Jane Philbrook

So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.  2 Corinthians 5:6-9

Jane Philbrook (nee Casper), age 76 of Caldwell, went to be with her Lord and Savior on Friday, July 2, 2021. No more pain, no more illness, no more struggle, but eternal glory.

Jane grew up in Irvington, NJ as one of five children in her family. Jane had an identical twin, June, and the two of them were truly “identical” twins – often wearing the same style eyeglasses and wardrobes. Even their closest family and friends had difficulty telling them apart, and Jane’s own husband found himself putting his arm around his sister-in-law by mistake! Jane and June spoke to each other daily throughout their lives before June passed in 2019.

Jane and her husband, Roger (who most call “Phil”) met at the Trinity Baptist Church. Their love blossomed and they married in October of 1974. When it came time to start a family, God led them to adopt, but that proved to be more difficult than they could have known. In the 1970’s, every adoption agency turned them away! It’s hard to imagine today, but because they were in their 30’s, they were considered to be too old to properly raise a child. They were not dissuaded, however, and God once again led them in the right direction. They found an adoption agency that placed special needs babies and children with adoptive families, and Dusty joined their family. Despite all the incredible challenges they faced as Dusty’s new parents, Jane and Phil knew that it was God’s will. They subsequently adopted Timmy and then Felicia, who were both also special-needs kids. Jane and Phil embraced every challenge, like changing diapers for thirty years, and they built a family that was more full of love than they could have imagined. Jane’s daily life was all about the kids and she wouldn’t have done any of it differently. She made wonderful, life-long friends with other families at places like Joni & Friends Retreat in Spruce Lake, PA, and she was always grateful to God for blessing her in so many unbelievable ways. For a person of just five-feet tall, she was able to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders, and she was grateful for all of it. She was a devoted mother to her three children, and they will all miss her dearly.

Jane is survived by her beloved husband, Roger “Phil” Philbrook of Caldwell, their three children; Dusty, Timmy and Fefe, all of Caldwell, two sisters; Joan of Pennsylvania, and Gail and her husband Dave of Florida, and a brother; Gary of Virginia. She was predeceased by her twin sister June in 2019.

Donations in Jane’s memory would be greatly appreciated to the Trinity Baptist Church, 160 Changebridge Rd., Montville, NJ 07045, or visit www.trinitymontville.org