Jane Susan Bunnell

Jane Susan Bunnell (née Jackson), beloved wife, mother, aunt and grandmother, died Friday, September 4, 2026, at her home in Sarasota, Florida with her family by her side.

The youngest of four children, Jane was born in St. Louis, Missouri on March 31, 1951. She was raised by her fiercely devoted mother, Ida Malaspina Jackson, and her aunts, Mamie and Margaret. Together these women imparted a profound character of resilience and grace that Jane would pass on to future generations.

Upon graduating from Incarnate Word Academy in St. Louis in 1969, Jane moved to Chicago to study art, a lifelong passion, while working as an X-ray tech to support her new life in the big city. She turned her keen artist’s eye into a career as a graphic designer, joining International Harvester (later Case IH and CNH) in 1976. Jane created appearance graphics, model numbers and safety decals for virtually all of the agricultural equipment released during her career. If you have seen a red or a blue tractor, chances are you have seen her work. Even after her retirement in 2019, Jane continued to serve on the Society of Automotive Engineers HFTC2 Machine Displays and Symbols Committee, standardizing safety symbols across the globe.

But the most notable legacy of her time at Case would prove to be a workplace romance with Mike Bunnell in engineering. This office love story blossomed into marriage, two children, and 47 years of companionship, adventure, laughter and devotion.

Jane delighted in her daughters, Jacquee and Natalie, and made sure they had every opportunity to cultivate their own talents and passions. She spent countless hours carting the girls to lessons in dance, music, art and soccer, always with a great soundtrack on the radio and a book in hand. Jane was a tenacious advocate for her children, modeling how to navigate life's challenges and always providing unwavering support when things didn’t go as planned.

Long before the ease of the Internet, Jane planned elaborate and unexpected adventures that broadened her family’s horizons. She turned what should have been a quick business trip to Australia for Mike into an unforgettable family expedition to the Great Barrier Reef and once plotted a weekend jaunt to Los Angeles for a rare viewing of Van Gogh’s “Potato Eaters.” Determined and enterprising, Jane managed to secure tickets to the first run of Hamilton in Chicago and found Maine’s best lobster roll at Red’s Eats. She worked overtime to show her loved ones all the arts, culture and good food their home and the world had to offer.

Jane’s infectious appreciation for art extended beyond her family. For years, she volunteered in her daughters’ school classrooms, teaching memorable and irreverent art history lessons. Jane was also an incredible seamstress: sewing several wedding gowns (including her own) for friends and family and years of dance and Halloween costumes for her daughters. A steadfast friend who was always up for a laugh, she most often showed her affection through pranks and razzing. Jane loved her friends and her children’s friends as family. All were welcome–and well fed–in her home.

Jane will be deeply missed. She is survived by her loyal husband, Michael Bunnell; beloved daughters Jacquee Bunnell (Hans Hesse) and Natalie (Wesley) O’Dell, and her six treasured grandchildren, Leo and Eli Hesse and Madeleine, Genevieve, Margot, and Clementine O’Dell.

A service and reception in celebration of Jane’s remarkable life will be held from 1:00 to 4:00 pm at The Lodge at Katherine Legge Memorial Park, Hinsdale, Illinois, on November 8, 2026.

In her memory, please consider becoming a member of a local museum to support arts and culture in your area. Jane would also encourage you to donate blood as she did every eight weeks for nearly 50 years.

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