Jane Adelaide Licht Siegel, a leader in the field of outsourcing and a former national board member of WRJ, passed away July 14, 2014. Services were held at Temple Sinai in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Jane had bountiful energy for life and lived it as fully as possible, her daughter Rebekah Eve Siegel says. She was generous with her time, energy, expertise and donations.
She reached out to the needs of old and young, rich and poor, relatives and complete strangers; tended her Pittsburgh synagogues rose garden and the Jewish community in Argentina.
She was born May 29, 1944, in New York City to Edna and Leonard Licht. The family moved to Denver when she was very young.
She loved cats and climbing trees, had a good imagination and liked dancing and acting out characters in New York musicals.
Jane graduated Gove Junior High and the new George Washington High in 1962.
In 1966, she earned a degree in Spanish and Latin American studies at CU. Jane also volunteered for the newly created Peace Corps and worked in Washington, DC, and Bolivia.
After her marriage Jane moved to upstate New York and then to Charlottesville, Va., before settling in Pittsburgh in the 1970s. She earned her MA in 1974 and completed her PhD at Carnegie-Mellon University in 1987.
Jane spent the remainder of her professional life as a computer scientist. A leader in the field of outsourcing, she was often characterized as an outsourcing guru.
She was the founding director of ITSqc LLC, an internationally known company that developed best practices quality models and certification methods for service providers and clients involved in eSourcing.
An extensive traveler in her professional life, Jane went to India, Latin America and Europe.
She was active in her local synagogue, Temple Sinai in Pittsburgh, and in other Jewish causes. She served on the national board of WRJ and forged connections between Jewish Latin American organizations and WRJ.
Her legacy is not only that of an extremely intelligent woman but as a kind, generous and loving colleague, friend, sister and mother, Rebekah says.
She is survived by her daughter Rebekah Eve Siegel and her sister Alice (Jeffrey) Frankel.
Contributions may be made to Temple Sinai, 5505 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15217 or Women of Reform Judaism, 633 Third Ave., 7th floor, New York, NY 10017.
Copyright © 2014 by the Intermountain Jewish News
