Mary Jane Zinger

Mary Jane Tate Furst Zinger was born in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, on March 3, 1931, to Samual and Mary Tate. She died peacefully at her home on January 14, 2023, at the age of 91. She grew up in Salona, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Lock Haven High School in 1949. She attended Temple University Hospital School of Nursing in Philadelphia and graduated in 1952. She worked as a nurse for many years until retiring to raise her family. She returned to work in the 1980s after her children were grown. She married John Furst in 1953 and had two children, Jack and Robert. The family moved to Dallas, Texas, in 1973, where Mary Jane immersed herself in her community. She married Robert Zinger in 1991 and they enjoyed several years of traveling the world before his death in 1999. Mary Jane loved to sing and play the piano and had an amazing sense of humor which she maintained until the end. She never met a stranger and was kind to everyone, always finding something to compliment them on. She loved her family and always took pride in their accomplishments. She was known as “Nana” to her grandchildren. She also loved dogs, especially her beloved Betsy, Christie and Eli. Mary Jane is survived by her first husband, John S. Furst and his wife, Marti, and her two sons and daughters-in-law, John D. (“Jack”) and Debra Furst and Robert S. and Stacey Furst. She is also survived by her brother and sister-in-law, James and Judy Tate, in St. Mary’s, Pennsylvania; four grandchildren: Bradley Furst, Kendall Furst, John F. (“Jackson”) Furst and Jordan Furst; a nephew, John Tate, niece, Mary Drawl, and two great-nieces. The family would like to thank the staff at Pinewood Hills Retirement home where Mary Jane lived for the past 5-1/2 years and her devoted caregivers, Crystal Bridges, Jacque Archer and their team, for all the love and care they gave Mary Jane over the past several years. Funeral arrangements are being provided by Distinctive Life Funeral Home. A private service will be held and Mary Jane will be laid to rest at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Mill Hall, Pennsylvania, alongside her mother and father.

Mary Jane Zinger

March 3, 1931 - January 14, 2023