Jane Fisher Simmons Bickford

Jane Fisher Simmons Bickford is known as a mentor, coach, mother, grandmother, mother-in-law, friend, comrade, adventurer, and accomplice by more people than can easily be counted. Her family, friends, and anyone who spends time with her are generally in awe of her energy, spark, wisdom, and lively mind. Grounded in her twin identities as a New Orleanian and New Yorker, she is also a world traveler, including having explored Greenland, India, the Amazon, Antarctica, Chile, and South Africa, among many other destinations.

Jane currently resides on Oak Street in New Orleans, where she is an enthusiastic participant in the arts and culture of that great city. Her many visitors find it difficult to keep up with her as she takes them on tours of the city, such as to the Botanical Gardens, the Sculpture Garden, or one of the many parades in the French Quarter. When not receiving visitors, she regularly goes to live music show, Jazz Fest, art exhibits, or local theater productions with various friends.

Jane Fisher Simmons was born on April 30th, 1941, in St Louis Missouri, to her parents Martha Nicolaus and Theodore Simmons. Her maternal parents were Louis Nicolaus, a prominent citizen of St Louis, and Jane Reynolds (Adger) Nicolaus. Her paternal grandparents were Edward Guernsey Simmons, one of the founders of the insurance industry, and Estelle Beckwith (Fisher) Simmons. Jane grew up with one sister, Susan Philips.

After completing her schooling, Jane attended New York University in the 1970s and earned a Master of Arts degree in sociology. She then worked for the Arson Task Force in New York City, a specialized unit of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) responsible for investigating cases of arson in the city. The Task Force was formed in 1977 as a response to a series of deadly arson attacks in the city. Its work contributed to a significant decrease in the number of arson-related deaths and injuries in the city.

Jane began her career in higher education in the field of alumni relations. She worked at various institutions, including Brooklyn Polytechnic, Tulane University, Columbia University Law School, and Paul Smiths College.

Jane was married to Robert Conde Bickford, with whom she had two children, Louis Nicolaus Bickford, born in 1965 in New York, and Elisabeth Conde Bickford, born in 1969, in Nassau, Bahamas. She has, so far, four grandsons, Eli, Tolo, Theo, and Harry.