Amelia "Jane" Duncombe

Amelia Jane Duncombe of Amador City died on November 24 after a long battle with Alheizmer's Disease. Jane was born in Ontario, Canada on July 22, 1925. She attended public schools in Chicago and graduated with a degree in architecture from the Art Institute of Chicago's School of Industrial Design. Jane apprenticed with Frank Lloyd Wright in Wisconsin and Arizona. In 1951, she moved to California, where she practiced architecture for more than 50 years. She founded Duncombe, Rowland and Miller in Santa Rosa in the 1960s, then opened her own office in Marin County. Jane designed a variety of buildings, including private homes, institutions and commercial structures. In the 1980s, Jane purchased Amador City property with Susan Bragstad. She designed a number of local buildings, including Andrae's Bakery in Amador City. She also performed architectural services for remodels of historic buildings, including the Imperial Hotel, and donated architectural drawings for the remodel of Amador City's Amador Hotel. Jane was the recipient of a Sunset Western Home Award. Her architectural drawings are collected in Virginia Polytechnic University's International Archive of Women in Architecture. Jane was preceded in death by her parents, Dr. Keith Lionel Duncombe and Muriel Collings Duncombe. She is survived by her many friends and family who will remember her fondly. Jane's survivors would like to thank the Amador Residential Care staff for all they did for her in recent years. In lieu of a memorial service or flowers, Jane asked that donations in her memory be made to the Foothill Conservancy, which she helped found in 1989. See www.foothillconservancy.org/donate or mail to 35 Court St, Ste 1, Jackson, CA 95642.