Obituaries

Jane Rachael Vorwerk a spirited Texan whose life stretched from cotton fields to courtrooms, passed away in Taylor, Texas, at the age of 80. Born to William Paul Matyastik and Rose Svetlik on February 25, 1945, in Cameron, Texas, she was the youngest of seven children—and the only one born in a hospital, a detail her siblings never let her forget. With her blonde hair and blue eyes, she was the subject of family jokes that perhaps the hospital had sent home the wrong baby. But Jane always knew exactly who she was. A brilliant student from the start, Jane graduated as valedictorian of her high school class before attending the University of Texas at Austin, where she was accepted into the prestigious Plan II Honors Program. She later earned her law degree from UT and practiced as an attorney, not out of ambition, but out of principle. After witnessing a case where a woman lost what was rightfully hers, Jane vowed never to be at anyone’s mercy—and to help others avoid that same fate.