Jane (Sussman) Duhl

Jane Duhl passed away peacefully on Thursday, April 22nd at her residence in Woodstock, NY.  It is with heavy hearts that we remember Jane and her incredible leadership and commitment to young children and their families.

Jane is survived by her loving husband of 36 years, Daniel Duhl, sister Ilene Sussman Hirschberg, daughters, Jul Morpurgo (Bryan) Monk of Baltimore MD, and Wendy Morpurgo of Virginia Beach VA, son Paul Morpurgo and Carolyn Eickmann and family, Lacey, Tori and Tessa of Southern IL, son Jon (Casey Vanner) Morpurgo of Littleton CO, grandchildren Jennifer Morpurgo, Candice Jane Lynch, Tyler Morpurgo and Sophie Morpurgo, nephew Tom Hirschberg and his daughters Emma and Ovidia Eriksen of Oslo Norway, niece Ellen Hirschberg (Mark Gryska) and their children Asher and Oriana of Northampton MA, stepdaughters Judith (Spencer John) Duhl and Barbara Duhl and step grandson David Duhl. First cousin Linda Lippert Stimpson and her family. Jane was preceded in death by her parents, Sam and Sophie Sussman, and her son David Morpurgo.

Jane was born in Brooklyn, NY on May 11, 1936 and the world became a better place that very day.  She often shared her fond childhood memories of Brooklyn, where she was surrounded by a loving extended family. In 1948 her family left the city and moved to Long Island where she attended Sewanhaka High School in Floral Park. Jane loved school and she received academic scholarships to attend Cortland College In New York for her under graduate degree. In 1947 Jane got her first job as an elementary school teacher with the starting salary of $4,200 a year - of which she was very proud. While in Courtland she met her first husband Harold Morpurgo. Upon graduation they married and had five beautiful children. The family moved to Champaign Illinois in the 70s where she pursued her masters and doctorate degrees in early childhood education at the University of Illinois.  During that time, Jane worked with Edward Zigler and opened the first Head Start program in the area.  Upon completion of her Ph.D. the family moved to Southern Illinois where Jane achieved her life time dream of being a college professor. She was lovingly referred to as Dr. Jane.  

In 1980 the family moved to Hampton, Virginia where Jane worked at Hampton University and William and Mary as a successful grant writer to fund many educational programs.  She also worked at Ft. Eustis writing training manuals for helicopter building and maintenance.

 Throughout her career, Jane was active in the state and local chapters of the National Association of Young Children and served as president of those chapters and presented training sessions at local, state, regional, and national conferences. After retiring from teaching Jane worked for the US Army inspecting early childhood education centers and traveled all over the country

 In 1983, Jane became the executive director of The Child Development Centers of Tidewater, Inc.  Under her administration, the agency opened one of the first infant centers in Norfolk. In addition, Jane was an adjunct professor for Old Dominion University and taught graduate and undergraduate courses in early childhood education. Teaching teachers to be better teachers was her motto. 

Jane met Daniel Duhl in 1982 and they lived a wonderful life between Manhattan and Virginia Beach where they restored and then lived in The Frank Lloyd Wright Cooke house for 30 years. They love to travel and took amazing trips all over the world enjoying food, culture, nature and art. In 2016, they sold their historic home and moved to Woodstock. Jane was warm hearted and welcoming to every person she met.  Her generous spirit shone through her smile. She planted gardens, loved doing Tai Chi, she was a veracious reader with a pile of books always nearby and had a collection of pop up books that couldn’t be beat. In every home she lived in she always had a puzzle in progress on the table and invited other to help her finish. Jane was loved by all and will be truly missed by ALL!!!

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Seamon-Wilsey Funeral Home in Saugerties, NY. There will be private service held for family on April 25, 2021 and a celebration of Jane’s life will be planned at a future date. In lieu of flowers, a donation in Jane’s memory to a local child care center in your community is appreciated.   Further obituary information and expressions of condolence may be shared with Jane’s family @SeamonWilseyFuneralHome.com or LasherFH.com

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