Each year the Rotary Club of Vicksburg identifies a non-Rotarian from the area to become a Vicksburg Rotary Mercer Munn Fellow. The individual selected will be someone who has made a major commitment to improving life in the Vicksburg area.
Jane Crist was awarded the Mercer Munn Award in June because of her selfless service and generous heart, both embodied by the late Mercer Munn. Jane has lived in the Vicksburg community her whole life. She was employed by and retired from Vicksburg Community Schools. Since her retirement, Jane has committed herself to restoring headstones and grave markers in area cemeteries.
She first discovered the neglect and gradual decay of headstones and monuments in the Schoolcraft Cemetery on Highway Street in Vicksburg while caring for family plots. She was alarmed by encroaching trees, roots, and brush and how many markers were unreadable, broken, and some even below the grass.
She began researching proper products to use and sought permission from Schoolcraft Township officials. Permission was granted, and her efforts accelerated and intensified. She also has worked restoring and saving markers in Jenkinson Cemetery on East W Avenue.
Several articles in the South County News focused on Jane, helping to generate donations for expensive chemicals needed for cleaning. The attention also helped bring together various groups, including Scouts and service clubs, who have helped, through her leadership and careful instruction, to accelerate the restoration. She sought expert advice, even housing Justin Frost, a preservationist, in 2022, to repair headstones.
She demonstrated Mercer Munn’s compassion when her heart was broken when she discovered an unmarked Civil War Veteran’s grave, and she worked with Leah Millowe with the Vicksburg Historical Society to identify the grave, secure a marker, and pushed for a ceremony. Her persistence and commitment made this happen.
She traveled in 2024 to Camp Nelson National Cemetery in Jessamine County, Kentucky, to visit the graveside of a Vicksburg veteran who had died on December 9, 1865. Jane suspected his mother and family had been unable to visit his graveside. It was a powerful experience.
Jane feels deeply connected to the Vicksburg community and honoring its people and history. She was also a driving force behind the Senior Burg Days and Senior Holiday Luncheon through South County Community Services.
In the 62 years that Mercer Munn spent in the Rotary Club of Vicksburg, he exemplified all that is best in Rotary. To him, “Service Above Self” was not a slogan; it was a way of life. It was impossible to separate Mercer’s Christian humility and compassion from his Rotary determination. If there was something in the community to be fixed, helped, or healed, Mercer Munn was often part of the solution. He continues to set the bar for community involvement long past his time here.
Mercer Munn was Jane’s uncle, and she is touched by the recognition. “I can’t tell you how much this means to me. That I might be even a little bit like Uncle Mercer is an honor.”
