Jane Rafferty of Ann Arbor, Michigan, died suddenly on July 21, 2025, at University Hospital in Ann Arbor. Three of her sisters were at her side.

Jane was born in Connecticut and spent her childhood in Sandy Hook. The daughter of William and Alice Rafferty, she leaves five sisters: Maureen Rohmer (Newtown), Sheila Susini (Mississauga, ON), Ellen Rafferty (Madison, Wisc.), Kate Hall (Chichester, N.H.), and Ann Rafferty (Washington, D.C.).

Jane graduated from Newtown High School in 1975 and completed her BA in Sociology at the University of Connecticut in 1979. She then joined the University of Michigan’s graduate program in Sociology, completing her master’s in 1981. Jane completed all but her dissertation in that field, and stayed at Michigan her entire career, contributing to signature research projects affiliated with the Research Center for Group Dynamics and Survey Research Center at the Institute for Social Research (ISR). For a memory of Jane on the University of Michigan site, you may go to isr.umich.edu.

Her readiness to help and her quick wit will be missed by many. Contributions in her name can be made to Michigan Public Radio.