When Jane's husband John died in January, 1991, it was expected that Jane, who was suffering from bone cancer, would follow him within a matter of days. Instead, she would live another eighteen months, much of that time with great difficulty. Loretta soon fell into a pattern of spending her weekends with Jane in her Palos Verdes Estates apartment, relieving Jane's daughter Hilary.

Jane's world was now reduced to one bedroom with a view of a quiet street, heavily shaded by massive eucalyptus trees. It would be while sharing this single room that her and Loretta's friendship would achieve it's deepest moments. They had known each other since meeting at the Ramona Convent School at age eleven and now they discussed intimacies that had never been breached. Jane likened it to being on a constant spiritual retreat where she was able to find a context to help her accept her suffering. Loretta found the sharing in such a vulnerable time of her friend's life, one of the best gifts that God had ever given her. Never was it clearer that the sense of having the best of this world comes during those periods when one is convinced that they are doing exactly what God wants them to be doing.