Jane Burkholder Smidinger

It is with great sadness we extend that our Mother, Jane Smidinger (87) passed away on Sunday afternoon. She fought a courageous battle with advanced chronic lung disease for many years –never a smoker—and for the past half-decade, she was also compromised with CMML (Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia). Jane is survived by her sole sibling Dave Burkholder, her two children Eric Smidinger & Gretchen Knoell. Jane has six Grandchildren: Max Smidinger, Sierra Silberman and Elyse Smidinger along with the Knoell children: Jack, Julia and Andrew. She also has 5 great grandsons: Oliver(6) and identical twins Bodie & Wesley(4) Smidinger along with Marrack(5) & Spencer(3) Silberman. It goes without saying, Jane was an exceptional mother and took great pride and satisfaction watching the generations of her children grow and succeed. Mom was a pet lover of both cats and dogs and has bequeathed a sum to the Greenbelt Animal Shelter.

Jane was the matriarch of the family. Jane grew up in Owings Mills, MD. Her parents Julia &Frank Burkholder, owned one the first pre-convenience stores at their Sunoco filling station and repair garage located right on Reisterstown Road. Jane graduated with a Nursing Degree from Union Memorial Hospital, in Baltimore and started her career as an RN in their Emergency Room. She then transferred to become a Surgical Nurse at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Shortly after starting a family in Baltimore she relocated to Lanham, MD to be near where her spouse of 13 years, Peter Smidinger, worked at NASA. Once separated, she returned to nursing at Parkdale HS in 1974. While there, one of the students brought a gun into school and shot and injured a teacher. Jane was the first medical worker on the scene to give aid to the teacher who survived the gunshot wound. Shortly thereafter, Mom transitioned to The Prince Georges County Health Dept. as a Public Health Nurse and worked there for 25 years until she retired.

She loved socializing and playing Bridge with her mates over the years. Recently she moved to an assisted living facility in Rockville and enjoyed her time there sharing meals with fellow residents. Finally, it cannot go without mentioning: the loving bond of companionship that Jane and Bernie Zempolich shared over the last two decades. Their special relationship would allow them to spend much time together consoling and cajoling each other and at the end of the day, talk nightly on the phone to say “night-night” to each other.

Jane will be dearly missed because of the compassion and caring she naturally extended for all others, whether through her work or friendships and relationships. Her kindness was deep seated and always true, never wavering. This kindness was returned in spades by her long-time (46yrs) neighbors of the 73 Court, in Greenbelt, as her mobility and health declined. It is rare, as Jane was, to be this loved by everyone.