Carlos Jayne, Jr.

Rev. Carlos Jayne, Jr., beloved by his family, colleagues and fellow champions for justice and equality, died Monday, June 13th, 2022. He left this earth fighting all the way and wanted it noted he would be leaving “kicking and screaming.” He was born in Towanda, PA, to Carlos Sr. and Ethel Jayne on May 24,1935. An error at the hospital led to his birth being recorded as May 17, so he forever had to use that date as his “official” date of birth. He also thought he should be celebrated for an entire week! Carlos grew up in Laceyville, PA, and went on to graduate from Lycoming College in Williamsport. He married and started a family and spent a brief time going to Drew Seminary in NJ, but family responsibilities required him to quit and secure a fulltime job. He soon found himself in the insurance business, traveling and moving around to several states before landing in Des Moines as the Corporate Secretary for Statesman Insurance. He was sitting at his desk one day when he felt the pull and push to ministry again. In 1977 after 20 years in insurance and at the age of 42, he plunged into his second career and received his Master of Divinity degree from Iliff School of Theology in Denver, CO. He served congregations as a United Methodist clergy in the south of Wales in the United Kingdom, New Jersey, New York, Waterloo and Des Moines, IA. He served as the Director of the Urban Mission Council and as Legislative Advocate for the Iowa Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. His advocacy included issues affecting people who were homeless, in prison, experiencing discrimination, or trying to get off welfare. He was active in preserving the environment and the family farm, opposing reinstatement of the death penalty, advocating worker rights, obtaining voting rights for ex-felons, seeking immigrant rights and economic justice for all. Carlos served as coordinator for Iowa Human Needs Advocates; served on the MLK, Jr. Scholarship Committee for 15 years; founded Iowans for Gun Safety and the Friends of Prisoners at Mitchellville, now known as Friends of Iowa Women Prisoners and was co-founder of the Justice Reform Consortium. Carlos was past president of Citizens for a Gambling Free Government, Des Moines Coalition for the Homeless and the Des Moines Hunger Hike. He served on both the Waterloo and Des Moines Human Rights Commissions. In 1984, he traveled to Nicaragua with Witness for Peace and to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1988 and ‘89 with Eyewitness Israel. Carlos received many accolades for his work. He was awarded Amnesty International Recognition for human rights work (Local Group 277) in 1993, the Cristine Wilson Medal for Equality and Justice by the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women in 2002, and the Louise Noun Award as Civil Libertarian of the Year from ACLU of Iowa in 2008. In 2012, he was honored by the Justice Reform Consortium as the founder and for his continuing advocacy for prison reform and justice issues. He was inducted into the Pioneer Lawmakers of Iowa in 2014 for his years of lobbying for the United Methodist Church of Iowa and other social justice clients. The Iowa Methodist Federation for Social Action twice honored him for his social justice work. He was inspired by his heroes, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Oscar Romero. As involved as he was in issues of equality and justice, Carlos loved his family and friends with just as much passion. In 1991, he married the love of his life, Betsy. They especially enjoyed spending time with great friends and family and traveling throughout Europe and North America. They just missed getting to their 50th state, Hawaii. Carlos was known for his sense of humor, quick wit, candor, love of the Green Bay Packers, Johnny Cash, pie and ice cream. Carlos is survived by his wife of 31 years, Betsy, daughters Dori Leslie (James) and Andrea Jayne (Paul Nero), stepdaughters Angela Ihry and Lisa Armstrong, stepson Michael Armstrong, 13 grandchildren, several great-grandchildren, sister Pat Newhart, brother Ronald Jayne, Sr., many special nieces and nephews and the mother of his children, Nancy Wittman. He was preceded in death by his son, Eric, his son-in-law Jeff Ihry, his parents, brothers John Stahl and William Jayne and sisters Sandra Monday and Grace Wilhelm. Betsy and the family appreciate the excellent care provided by Wesley Home Hospice. They are special people committed to support and comfort. Visitation will be held on Thursday, June 23rd from 5-7 P.M. at Caldwell Parrish Funeral Home in Urbandale and a celebration of life service on Friday, June 24th at 1:30 P.M. at Grace United Methodist Church, 3700 Cottage Grove, Des Moines. Memorials may be directed to Grace United Methodist Church, Methodist Federation for Social Action and mailed to MFSA c/o Mike Bicklen, 515 E. 11th St., Muscatine, IA 52761 or the scholarship fund for Friends of Iowa Women Prisoners, P.O. Box 71272, Clive, IA 50325.