Jane Lockwood Barney was a social and political activist who worked to establish, build, and run a number of organizations aimed to improve the lives of the people of the Ann Arbor area. Her causes included access to high quality health care for minorities and the elderly, homelessness, hunger, job skills training, and Democratic political activism. She attended Wellesley College, Union Theological Seminary, and the University of Michigan School of Social Work.
Jane Lockwood Barney was married to Reverend Roger Warren Barney, and they had three sons and a daughter; Alice B., James O., Jonathan L., and Daniel R. From 1948 to 1967 the family lived at Parishfield, a community devoted to "renewal of the church" where Reverend Barney was one of the three clergy in charge of community management at Parishfield.
Jane Barney was a founder of the Michigan Association of Nursing Home Community Councils, co-founder and President of the Avalon Housing Board, co-Chair of the Turner African American Services Council, and Chair of the Turner Geriatric Clinic Advisory Committee. She served on the Community Development Executive Committee and the boards of the Washtenaw Housing Alliance, Community Council Association, the Housing Bureau for Seniors, and the Shelter Association of Washtenaw County/Ann Arbor. From 1970 to 1989 she worked at the University of Michigan's Institute of Gerontology. After her retirement from the Institute of Gerontology in 1989, she remained active in many organizations and in the Ann Arbor community.
From the guide to the Jane Lockwood Barney Papers, 1937-2009, Bulk 1980-2005, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)
