Rest in Peace
Co-founder of North Texas youth theater program Junior Players has passed away
Junior Players produced 12th Night: A Rock Musical in August 2021.
Jane Hook, one of the co-founders of Junior Players, has died at the age of 95.
"It is with great sadness that we announce that Junior Players founder Jane Hook has passed away after 95 incredible years of making the world a better place," reads a Facebook post from Junior Players. "Jane was an exceptional friend, family member, servant leader, and community advocate, and we are all deeply saddened by this loss. It is thanks to Jane’s commitment to creating safe spaces for students to create, learn, and grow that Junior Players has been around for 67 years and has been able to transform countless lives through the arts."
Hook was born on July 4, 1927, and passed away on September 26, 2022.
Junior Players is the longest-running arts programming nonprofit in Dallas, and has been providing free, innovative arts education to North Texas youth since 1955.
According to its mission, Junior Players exists to encourage, empower, and enrich the lives of North Texas children and youth with the skills and abilities to confidently express themselves at home, in school, and in their professional lives.
"Our Junior Players Guild family has lost an icon, a servant leader, and the founder of our organization," writes executive director Rosaura Cruz. "Jane Hook, alongside other amazing champions, founded the Junior Players Guild in 1955. A children's theater for kids by kids and what a grand organization it has been for hundreds of thousands of young lives. As we dim the lights and mourn the loss of this beautiful soul, we know heaven's stage has gained a superstar. We thank Jane for making a safe space for students to create theater. She was our champion to the end of her days."
From 1955 to 1989, Junior Players presented traditional children's theater productions performed entirely by children and teenagers. In 1989, the Board of Directors changed the focus of Junior Players' activities, deciding that Junior Players can best serve the youth of Dallas by providing free programming accessible to all the children of North Texas. Through free, high-quality arts education programs in local recreation and cultural centers, housing projects, elementary and middle schools, and through social service agencies serving youth at risk, Junior Players continues to empower young voices.
"We are grateful that we were able to present her with a Junior Players Lifetime Achievement Award earlier this year, for all of the wonderful years we were able to spend with her, and for all of the work we have been able to do thanks to her," continues the Junior Players Facebook post. "Jane was not just a member of our Junior Players family, but a member of our DFW family as a whole and we know she will be deeply missed."
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.kellersoldtownfuneralhome.com.
"Many Junior Players champions will be in mourning, but also celebrating her dedication to Junior Players, a long life of incredible advocacy for the arts, the North Texas area, and our children," says Cruz. It was an honor to know her. I personally thank her for the abundance of memories she created for me as an alumni of many of the programs, but also as a mentor and incredible advisory board member on my journey as the current JP executive director. She changed my life through the Junior Players platform."
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