Obituary: Jane Kay Bacon Unruh

Share this post or save for later

6/15/1956 – 3/29/2026
Lawrence

Jane Kay Bacon Unruh, 69, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Sunday, March 29, 2026, after a long battle with dementia. There will be no public services held.

Jane was born in Topeka, Kansas on June 15, 1956 and spent most of her life in Douglas County, living in Baldwin City, Lecompton, and Lawrence. She took lifelong comfort in her faith. After retiring from her career at KU Athletics, Jane found joy in daily visits to the dog park with her husband and their dog, Marley.

We will miss her silly nature, her beautiful smile, and the pranks she was known to pull. She had a particular love for butterflies and wasn’t afraid to pick up the hairiest caterpillars. Jane loved her family more than anything, except maybe hot chocolate and the Beatles. She will be missed by all who knew her.

She is survived by her doting husband, John Van Sickel; her three loving daughters: Melanie (Dustin) O’Dell, Amy Wilson, and Katarina (Logan) Isaman-Unruh; eight grandchildren: Charles (Maria Fernanda) O’Dell, McKensie O’Dell, Logan (Samantha Mays) O’Dell, Carter (Chloe Cummings) O’Dell, Aiden O’Dell, De’Shan Wilson, Lyle Carver, and Takeya Alverson; one great grandson, Lane O’Dell; and her siblings Allan Bacon and Ann Cook. She is preceded in death by her parents, Mary Louise Bacon (Ramsour) and Robert Jesse Bacon.

Note: The Lawrence Times is offering Lawrence and Douglas County community members space to publish remembrances of loved ones who lived in this community, free of charge. These pieces are submitted by family and friends of the deceased and not written by our staff. Photos are also provided to the publication, and some may have been altered prior to submission. Read more obituaries here.

We are honored to be able to offer this service free to community members in mourning. We believe the last thing our neighbors need in those difficult moments is another financial matter to worry about. Please support the Times to help us continue providing this service — and news access — for all.

To submit an obituary to The Lawrence Times, please fill out the form at this link. We’re sorry, but we cannot accept obituary submissions via email or other means.

Receive obituaries via email

As of May 2026, we are launching a newsletter that will include obituaries only. Obituaries will no longer appear in our daily emails. You can sign up below to receive any and all of our emails. If you already receive our daily, weekly and/or occasional emails and you want to keep receiving them, please check those boxes as well.

Please make sure you click on the button that says “Yes, subscribe me to this list” in the email you receive or you will not receive future emails. That extra step is to protect you and make sure you’re not getting emails you don’t want.

Subscribe

* indicates required
What kind of emails do you want to receive?
Please check ALL emails you want to receive.
Previous Article

Third ‘No Kings’ rally brings generations together to protest Trump administration

Next Article

Some Kansas lawmakers use AI chatbots in the Statehouse — with no guidelines on responsible use