August 7, 1932 – April 17, 2025
Jane (Deppen) Abbott was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, to Dr. Earl Negley Deppen and Gwendolyn (Templin) Deppen on August 7, 1932. She was the oldest of 2 siblings. She passed away on April 17, 2025, at the age of 92.
As a young girl, Jane was a Campfire Girl and developed a love of tap dancing and ballet. She continued dancing at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln and loved wearing the beautiful dresses that were made for her. Jane studied piano as a girl and continued to play as she grew older. Her family travelled to the National Western Stock Show almost every year, where they all enjoyed watching the livestock shows. She fondly spoke about visiting the ranch that her parents purchased near Cushing, Nebraska, when she and her sister, Kay, were young. They didn’t live there but would frequent the ranch where the Big Red Barn was a favorite and where they played in the hay loft. Jane loved to ride horses and on the tractor with her dad.
Jane graduated from Lincoln High School in 1950 and went on to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where she received her bachelor’s degree in education. She was a member of the Pi Phi Sorority at UNL.
Jane’s summer job while in Lincoln was working for Lincoln Steel alongside her best friend, Earlene Luff Knox. The Deppen and Luff families spent many times together vacationing from Alaska to Montana to Mexico and many places in between.
In March 1955, at the age of 22, Jane began a 9-year career with United Airlines as a stewardess based in New York, Los Angeles, and Denver. She was an instructor at the training center for stewardesses in Cheyenne, Wyoming. She enjoyed her career with her sister, Kay, who was also a stewardess, and the pair were able to travel to places like Mexico and Europe together.
In January 1964, she met Gilbert Lee Abbott of Kiowa, Colorado, at the National Western Stock Show. Jane and Gilbert married on June 20, 1964, in Lincoln at the First Presbyterian Church and she moved to the ranch southeast of Kiowa. The couple had 2 daughters, Ashley and Alecia. In 1972, Gilbert and Jane purchased the present-day Abbott Ranch. She worked at Gilbert’s side tagging calves and working in the field. She enjoyed swathing the hay they would sell for horse hay and fed to the cattle. Jane didn’t ever want to give up cutting hay and she loved being in the self-propelled New Holland swather.
Jane and Gilbert exhibited pen loads of Shorthorn cattle at the National Western Stock Show, the Kansas City Royal, and the International Livestock Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. They brought home numerous trophies for the top-notch Shorthorn cattle they exhibited. The two loved to dance and would attend local dances in the area. They ranched and farmed together for over 40 years until Gilbert’s passing in 2004. Jane lived a busy life marked by hard work for over 65 years in the Kiowa area.
Loved her family and would follow her daughters and grandsons to cattle shows and sporting events including volleyball, track meets, football, basketball, wrestling and rodeos. During her girls’ years in 4-H, she could be found in the Snack Shack flipping hamburgers at the Elbert County Fair.
Jane was quite the sports enthusiast, rarely missing a televised game. She loved Nebraska Cornhusker football, the Colorado Rockies and the Denver Broncos. She knew most of the players’ names, which ones were hurt, and those who weren’t playing up to par. The Price is Right and Family Feud were favorites when she wasn’t wowing with her crossword puzzles, reading, or knitting beautiful sweaters. Her cats and dogs brought her great joy, and she loved Western art and enjoyed attending the NWSS art show. She was known for her holiday meals and the pride with which they were prepared and served on her fine china. People raved about her pies and deviled eggs, her signature dishes for events.
Jane was a longtime member of the Presbyterian Churches in Elbert and Kiowa and taught bible school at the Kiowa Presbyterian Church, which is now Kiowa Creek Community Church. She was a member of the Elbert County Cattlewomen, Red Hat Club, Elbert County Republican Party, Elbert County Farm Bureau, worked for the Elbert County Nursing Service giving developmental tests, and cooked and served lunches to students at Kiowa Schools.
Jane is survived by her sister, Kay (Bob) Deppen Bryant, of Golden and Hawaii; daughters Ashley (Cevey) Abbott Pennington, of Kiowa, and Alecia (Gene) Abbott Fortune, of Interior, S.D.; and grandsons Cole (Karlie) Pennington, of Kiowa: Cauy Pennington, of Kiowa, and Jett Fortune, of Interior.
Jane’s family is deeply grateful to Julie McClain for her devoted care, and to the many friends and relatives who visited Jane at the ranch and at Castle Rock Assisted Living. She loved and appreciated company, calls, cards, and letters. At Jane’s request, there will be no services. She will be laid to rest next to her husband, Gilbert, in Lincoln.