Serving her Country with a Smile
by Chloe Allison
Jane in 1961 - Photo courtesy of Sally A. Struthers
Loretta “Jane” Struthers
November 18, 1934-August 18, 2017
Loretta Jane Struthers, who chose to go by “Jane,” was born on November 18, 1934 in Detroit, Michigan.[1] She was adopted by Alison and Robert Struthers.[2] The couple had already adopted a son, Thomas, who was born in 1933.[3] The family of four lived in Detroit and were later joined by three other siblings. Alison and Robert did not think they could have children of their own and got quite the surprise when John, Robert, and Cathi were eventually born.[4] Robert was born with Down syndrome, but managed to live a long life, until the age of 56.[5] During the World War Two era, the Struthers family moved to Alexandria, Virginia so that Robert Sr. could do his part for his country by working at the Pentagon.[6] Robert worked in accounting for the Department of Defense before the family, now of seven, moved back to Detroit.[7]
Jane in 1938 - Photo courtesy of Sally A. Struthers
While living in Detroit, the children attended Mackenzie High School where Jane was a member of many different clubs. She engaged her academic side as a member of the natural sciences, Spanish, and Esperanto clubs.[8] Jane’s artistic side was reflected by her participation in both the drama club and the senior camera club.[9] Jane had a passion for theater, which led her to Wayne State University. She attended Wayne State University in Detroit from 1952 until 1954 and majored in theater.[10] She was extremely interested in musical theater, but when college became too expensive, Jane decided to pursue a different career as an officer in the Air Force.[11]
Jane Struthers enlisted in the military at the age of nineteen.[12] In order to become an officer, Jane had to complete a college degree and attend Officer Cadet Training. She completed both and was soon a young, female Air Force officer—a rarity at the time, but a woman ready to serve her country. She was extremely successful in her military career, but it was not without difficulties. Jane served as an intelligence officer at the tail-end of the Korean War and all throughout the Vietnam War.[13] When she was visiting home and her youngest sister, Sally, would ask what she was working on, Jane would always respond with “I can’t tell you, it’s classified.”[14] Jane lived all around the world while in the Air Force. She was stationed in Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, Michigan, Hawaii, and Nebraska, and she ended her career on the Air Force base in Colorado Springs, Colorado as a Major.[15] While Jane was stationed in Hawaii in 1957, her mother Alison died of heart failure.[16] Her father Robert later married a young widow named Mary Imber Smith.[17] Mary had five children of her own and she and Robert had one together, giving Jane a grand total of ten siblings.[18] The large family meant a lot to Jane and she would visit whenever she could, but Jane, as ironic as it sounds, was not a fan of flying.[19] The trips home meant a lot to Jane’s father as well. He would love to brag to people about “his daughter the Air Force officer,” and she would show off her family at the officer’s club whenever she was in town.[20]
Jane was smart, witty, and a good storyteller; that being the case, she would often kid around with the other people living on the base. One of the most common stories that Jane told involved her playing a prank on a General that drove him nuts.[21] Jane was in possession of a hollowed-out hand grenade—it looked real, but it was not actually explosive. She decided to prank the General by putting a firecracker in the empty grenade and putting it on his desk.[22] Needless to say, the General was surprised to see a hand grenade “go off” on his desk. Jane also pranked her fellow Air Force service members—when there wasn’t much to do on a base, they found a way to have some fun. One such story was told during her memorial service. Another female officer was complaining that her apartment was too drab, and she wanted to paint it.[23] Jane offered to “help” her and went off to get paint; she returned with the bright, sparkly yellow that is used to paint the stripes on the road and a three-inch brush.[24] The other officer, not wanting to be one-upped by Jane, used the very tiny brush to paint her walls with road paint. Jane loved to have fun and did not let the strict rules of the Air Force stop her from having a little bit of fun with the people around her.
After about twenty-four years of service, Jane decided to retire due to health issues that came from a stint in Vietnam. She remained in Colorado Springs.[25] As she used to say, when the military was done with you “they could ship you back to where you came from or you could stay put.”[26] Jane chose the latter because she had made a home in Colorado. She had friends, family, and community that needed her help. She went back to school following her retirement and got a Master’s degree in divinity. Jane used this degree to become a Catholic chaplain and later a non-denominational spiritual advisor.[27] As a spiritual advisor, she visited patients in the local military hospital.[28] Although she kept busy with volunteering, Jane also kept in touch with the Air Force. She would have cadets over for dinner in exchange for them mowing her lawn. She had friends in the service and eventually lived among retired Air Force personnel and widows.[29] The Air Force treated Jane well and she was able to spend nearly forty years in comfortable retirement.
Jane kept a major secret during her time in the Air Force—she was gay.[30] Jane lived at a time where she could have lost her career if anyone found out the truth about her sexuality. She loved her country and loved the Air Force, but she had a conflict—she could be her true self, or she could have kept her career and the life that she built. Jane managed to do both. She had a long-time girlfriend that she lived with in Colorado Springs, Patti. Jane and Patti had to hide their life together from the public eye, but they managed to raise a daughter together.[31] Their daughter is proud to have two moms, but she was disappointed with the fact that she grew up in a time where it was not okay to have two moms. Jane was never out as a lesbian during her life, with the big reveal at her memorial service, and she had to carry a career-ending secret her entire life.
Photo courtesy of Sally A. Struthers
At the end of her life, Jane lived in an apartment complex that housed other retired Air Force officers and many widows.[32] She created a new persona with hopes that she would fit in with the group of people in the complex. Jane went back to using her first name, Loretta, and changed her voter registration to match that of her neighbors. Friends and family described Jane as assertive, powerful, and un-apologetically herself, but Jane was not comfortable with the conservative men and women of her last home. Jane did not let the opinions of other people drag her down, but she also did what she had to do to feel safe in her home.
Jane left this world at the age of 83 on August 18, 2017 having lived a full and happy life.[33] She was always looking out for others, telling stories about her time in the service, and spending time with her family and friends. Jane loved the Air Force deeply; she spent her free time at the chapel on base and even had a view of the chapel from her last apartment. She served her country with a smile while hiding a big part of who she was from most of the world. Jane was a true patriot and charitable woman. As a final act of kindness, Jane asked that guests at her memorial service make donations to the ARC instead of giving flowers.[34] ARC is a charity for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, a charity for people like Jane’s brother Robert. Jane loved her country, her friends, and her family.
Footnotes ↓
[1] “Loretta Jane Struthers Obituary.” The Gazette (Colorado Springs), August 29, 2017.
[2] Sally A. Struthers, phone interview by Chloe Allison, May 7, 2019, DU VLP.
[3] “1940 United States Federal Census.”ancestry.com, entry for Loretta Jane Struthers, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, pg. 7A.
[4] Sally A. Struthers, phone interview by Chloe Allison, May 7, 2019, DU VLP.
[5] Sally A. Struthers, phone interview by Chloe Allison, May 7, 2019, DU VLP.
[6] Sally A. Struthers, phone interview by Chloe Allison, May 7, 2019, DU VLP.
[7] Sally A. Struthers, phone interview by Chloe Allison, May 7, 2019, DU VLP.
[8] “U.S. School Yearbooks, 1900-1990.” ancestry.com, entry for J. Struthers Mackenzie High School, Detroit, Michigan, 1952, 34-35; “U.S. School Yearbooks, 1900-1990.” ancestry.com, entry for J. Struthers Mackenzie High School, Detroit, Michigan, 1951.
[9] “U.S. School Yearbooks, 1900-1990.” ancestry.com, entry for J. Struthers Mackenzie High School, Detroit, Michigan, 1952, pg. 40;“U.S. School Yearbooks, 1900-1990.” ancestry.com, entry for J. Struthers Mackenzie High School, Detroit, Michigan, 1951, pg. 37.
[10] Sally A. Struthers, email to Chloe Allison, May 7, 2019.
[11] Sally A. Struthers, phone interview by Chloe Allison, May 7, 2019, DU VLP.
[12] “Loretta Jane Struthers Obituary.” The Gazette (Colorado Springs), August 29, 2017.
[13] “Loretta Jane Struthers Obituary.” The Gazette (Colorado Springs), August 29, 2017.
[14] Sally A. Struthers, phone interview by Chloe Allison, May 7, 2019, DU VLP.
[15] “Loretta Jane Struthers Obituary.” The Gazette (Colorado Springs), August 29, 2017.
[16] Sally A. Struthers, email to Chloe Allison, May 20, 2019.
[17] Sally A. Struthers, email to Chloe Allison, May 20, 2019.
[18] “Mary Struthers Obituary.” Dayton Daily News (Dayton, OH), December 29, 2005.
[19] Sally A. Struthers, phone interview by Chloe Allison, May 7, 2019, DU VLP.
[20] Sally A. Struthers, phone interview by Chloe Allison, May 7, 2019, DU VLP.
[21] Sally A. Struthers, phone interview by Chloe Allison, May 7, 2019, DU VLP.
[22] Sally A. Struthers, phone interview by Chloe Allison, May 7, 2019, DU VLP.
[23] Sally A. Struthers, phone interview by Chloe Allison, May 7, 2019, DU VLP.
[24] Sally A. Struthers, phone interview by Chloe Allison, May 7, 2019, DU VLP.
[25] Sally A. Struthers, phone interview by Chloe Allison, May 7, 2019, DU VLP.
[26] Sally A. Struthers, phone interview by Chloe Allison, May 7, 2019, DU VLP.
[27] “Loretta Jane Struthers Obituary.” The Gazette (Colorado Springs), August 29, 2017.
[28] Sally A. Struthers, phone interview by Chloe Allison, May 7, 2019, DU VLP.
[29] Sally A. Struthers, phone interview by Chloe Allison, May 7, 2019, DU VLP.
[30] Sally A. Struthers, phone interview by Chloe Allison, May 7, 2019, DU VLP.
[31] Sally A. Struthers, phone interview by Chloe Allison, May 7, 2019, DU VLP.
[32] Sally A. Struthers, phone interview by Chloe Allison, May 7, 2019, DU VLP.
[33] “Loretta Jane Struthers Obituary.” The Gazette (Colorado Springs), August 29, 2017.
[34] “Loretta Jane Struthers Obituary.” The Gazette (Colorado Springs), August 29, 2017.
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