Jane Magrino Tolman, 1965-2026

Jane Magrino Tolman, a daughter, sister, wife, veteran journalist and loyal friend died Sunday, Feb. 22, at the age of 60.

Jane Magrino Tolman

She was the daughter of New Canaan resident Mary Cross, and sister of Sarah Magrino Miller of Norwalk, Susan Magrino Dunning of New York City and New Canaan and Allyn Cross Magrino of New Canaan.  She was pre-deceased by her father J.L. Magrino Jr., as well as her husband Mason Tolman Jr. In addition to her mother and sisters, Jane is survived by nephews Stetson Miller, Noah Miller and Maximilian Holmberg; niece Annika Holmberg and great-nephew Henry Miller, along with her brother-in-law James D. Dunning Jr.

Born in New Jersey in October 1965, Jane was the third of four Magrino sisters. She grew up first in West Orange, then in Delaware, where she graduated from Newark High School.  

Jane was a writer throughout her life. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Smith College, majoring in history, specifically early modern Europe. She later earned a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School, during which she spent three months in Washington, D.C., filing stories as a political correspondent for The Great Falls Tribune.

In the spring of 1996, Jane married advertising executive Mason Tolman Jr., in a ceremony in Manhattan. The couple spent five years in Key West, Fla., before returning in 2001 to Mason’s hometown of Slingerlands, N.Y., where they moved into a house built in the late 1890s by his great-grandfather. After her husband’s death in 2011, Jane remained in Slingerlands.

Her career moved between newsroom reporting and financial writing. She reported for The Southampton Press in the early to mid-1990s, then became a financial writer for Dow Jones News Services. Later, she freelanced, with bylines in The Associated Press, The New York Post and the Key West Citizen, and also worked in finance, including a period at Merrill Lynch. In later years, she wrote and edited extensively online, including long stretches producing client work through ContentWriters.com and Textbroker. She described herself as a “grammar fanatic” and a “detail-oriented” editor who wasn’t afraid of constructive criticism.

In her later years, Jane’s big-hearted energy increasingly flowed toward animals. She deeply loved dogs, and caring for them became central to her life. Friends and family said that her affection for pets was boundless, and that in her final chapter she built her days around them, especially her dog Scooby.

Jane was a frequent visitor to New Canaan to see her family and often accompanied her mother to services at St. Mark’s Church in New Canaan. She always enjoyed seeing Father Peter Walsh, a native of the Slingerlands NY area who knew Jane’s late husband and played tennis at Mason’s home in his childhood. Jane was a proud Daughter of the American Revolution and had been a member of the Hannah Benedict Carter chapter in New Canaan.

While Jane had no children, she was adored by her nephews and niece and was a constant presence in their lives, spending as much time with them as she could.

A memorial service for Jane is being planned for Saturday March 28 at St. Mark’s Church in New Canaan.