Obituary: Jane Wallace Fiero – Faculty 1973-2011 – November 9, 2014

Megan Wyatt, The Advertiser, Nov. 14, 2014

She was the kind of person who never drew attention to herself and would shy away from recognition of any kind, her colleagues say. But often times, those are just the kinds of people who leave the greatest impressions on people.

Jane Fiero, 71, spent 32 years teaching in the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s English Department before retiring in 2011. 

"Her devotion really was to her students – students who were pursuing an education and were not just floating along," said her colleague Joan Stear. "She took an interest and was so supportive of individuals who seemed to have to work harder than their neighbors."

A memorial service for Fiero will take place at 7 p.m. today at Delhomme Funeral Home.

Stear says that Fiero scoffed at the idea of recognition. Jim McDonald, who was head of the English Department from 2008 until earlier this year, says she even turned down a retirement party when she left the university.

"She’s kind of an unsung hero, teaching the service courses that students need to graduate," McDonald said. "I think she was content to see her students do well and content with whether they thought she was a good teacher or not."

Although shy about being in the spotlight for her teaching, Fiero was passionate and outspoken when necessary about the university’s writing program and other issues that influenced students, McDonald said.

Fiero served as an adjunct faculty member from 1973 to 1983 and again from 1989 to 1996. She served as an instructor from 1996 to 2011.

Her interest in technology and business made her an especially valuable technical writing teacher, her colleagues said.

Fiero earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Louisiana State University in 1968, her master’s in English from UL (then the University of Southwestern Louisiana) in 1972 and completed all work toward a doctoral degree in English at UL except for a dissertation.

Outside of the university, Fiero spent her time with the Lafayette Master Gardeners, co-owned secretarial service Page One for 11 years and dabbled in acting.

She is survived by her husband, retired UL Professor John Fiero; daughter, Shannon Baty Hughes; son, Joshua Fiero; and stepson, Jason Fiero.

"She had wit, and that’s probably the one word that describes her best," Stear said. "She really took delight in words and language."

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Obituary

Jane Wallace Fiero passed away on the evening of Sunday, November 9, 2014 at her home in Lafayette. She was born Jane MacDonald Wallace on March 23, 1943, in Columbia, South Carolina, the daughter of the Reverend Thomas Francis Wallace, Sr. (1905-1991) and Margaret Copeland Wallace (1908-2001), the youngest of their three children.

Shortly after Jane’s birth, the family moved from Columbia to Montevallo, Alabama, thence to Lafayette. Jane graduated from Lafayette High School in 1961 and earned her BA in English from LSU. She continued her studies at UL-Lafayette in 1972, where she completed an MA, also in English. For a time, Jane and a lifelong friend, Martha Tolson Griggs, operated Page One, a medical transcription service, but she ultimately made her career as a teacher, first as a teaching assistant at UL, followed by two years at Teurlings Catholic High School. She returned to UL and remained employed there for close to two decades, first as an adjunct and then as a fulltime Instructor of English. She retired in 2011.

Jane married John Wesley Fiero (b. 1934), her surviving husband, in 1975. Jane was preceded in death by her older brother, Thomas Francis Wallace, Jr. and her parents. She is survived by a daughter from her first marriage, Shannon Baty Hughes and husband, Terry, of Evansville, Indiana; a son from her second marriage, Joshua Copeland Fiero and wife, Margaret, of Austin, Texas; and a sister, Margaret Wallace Story of Fredericksburg, Virginia. In addition, she is survived by a step-son, Jason Colony Fiero, his wife, Lucia, and their children, Samantha and Avery, of Medway, Massachusetts.

Jane was a dedicated teacher who always communicated to her students a deep enthusiasm for the English language, above all its roots and structure. She also shared with her husband John a love of literature, gardening, camping, theatre, music, cooking, and parenting. All who knew her well knew that in her heart she was invariably tender and loving.

There will be a Memorial Service at the Delhomme Funeral Home on Friday, November 14, 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm, with visitation beginning at 6:00. Forest M. Byrd will officiate, and Alice Wallace will provide the music. No flowers, please. Consider instead, a memorial donation made Jane’s name to Doctors without Borders.

Personal condolences may be sent to the Fiero family at www.delhommefuneralhome.com.

Delhomme Funeral Home, 1011 Bertrand Drive, Lafayette, LA is in charge of funeral arrangements.

Athletic Network Footnote by Ed Dugas.

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