Jane Brailove Rutkoff
1943 – 2026
Jane Brailove Rutkoff died on August 19, 2026 at age 82 in Lawrenceville NJ. She passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by family.
Jane was born and raised in Elizabeth, NJ to Sylvia and Dr. Morris Brailove. Her mother was instrumental in founding the Jefferson Park Day Care Center and was president of the New Jersey Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey. Her father was a dentist in Elizabeth for 50 years.
After graduating from Battin High School, she earned her bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Pennsylvania, and her master’s degree in English literature from Bryn Mawr, writing about Nathaniel Hawthorne.
During a rich and varied career, she taught English at West Philadelphia High School, worked at the Knox County Department of Family Services (Ohio), and held leadership positions with the 5 STEP teacher-education program at Kenyon College, and the Ohio Humanities Council.
Jane served as the Executive Director of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities from 1998 until her retirement in 2011, spearheading innovative programming reflective of the diverse communities of New Jersey.
Jane also served her communities as a tireless volunteer. She helped to preserve the history and culture of her father’s birthplace, Woodbine, NJ, a Jewish agricultural community established as a refuge for Eastern European Jews fleeing persecution in the 19th century. In later years, she and her partner Peter Israel were active in multiple projects at HomeFront, an organization dedicated to ending homelessness in Central New Jersey.
Jane cared deeply about protecting wildlife and the natural world. She had a great love for monarch butterflies, and created a milkweed sanctuary in her garden to attract and nurture them. Her poetic spirit and joie-de-vivre were infectious, and most noted when reminiscing about the friendships she formed at Eagle Island Girl Scout Camp on Upper Saranac Lake in New York; spending time with her grandkids; or at the shore – especially playing skee-ball on the Jersey boardwalk.
She is survived by her son Joshua Rutkoff and daughter-in-law Lynn Amores of Los Angeles, CA; daughter Rebekah Rutkoff of New York City; brother Michael Brailove of Highland Park, NJ; her long-time partner Peter Israel, of Lawrenceville, NJ; grandchildren, Moshe and Dante; and her nephew and niece, Adam and Rachel Brailove. She was passionate in making sure her far-flung family stayed connected, usually over a table full of food. She will be missed immensely.
Contributions in her memory can be made to HomeFront in Lawrenceville, NJ.
A memorial service will be announced at a later date.
Funeral arrangements are by Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel. OrlandsMemorialChapel.com/Jane-Brailove-Rutkoff