February 13, 1945 - July 3, 2024

Nola Jane Carlton, age 79 of Dayton, passed away on Wednesday, July 3, 2024, at home with her family. She was born in Hohenwald, TN, on February 13, 1945, the daughter of the late Scott DePriest and Hyburnia (Hensley) DePriest. Jane grew up on the family’s farm near the Pineview Community outside Linden, TN. She used to talk about a very “memorable time” when she worked with her family digging fresh water mussels from the nearby Tennessee River, cooking them out at mussel camps on the bank of the river, and then selling the empty shells. Occasionally they would be rewarded with finding a fresh water pearl.

Jane was selected the Salutatorian of her graduating Linden High School class of 1963. After that she obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature with a minor in history from Austin Peay State University at Clarksville, TN. After college she became a school teacher and girls basketball coach. Teaching remained Jane’s primary occupation outside the home until she retired as the homebound teacher for Rhea County, TN.

Jane moved with her family to Dayton in 1984 and they never left. Through the years she has loved doing many different things. Among her most favorites were hiking, reading, being on the lake, listening to good music, attending plays and concerts and caring for her animals. Traveling held a whole special space for her. It was magical. It allowed her to visit places in Europe she had only read about. She loved a good mental challenge and mathematical projections were seemingly her specialty. She has at times spent as much as an entire weekend working to solve some mathematical projection just so she would be able to explain it to her school students when Monday came. Above all else, Jane’s highest priority was always caring for her family first. After moving to Dayton, she became an active member of the First United Methodist Church in Dayton where she remained in attendance for as long as her health allowed.

In addition to many cousins, nieces and nephews she is survived by her husband of 56 years, Johnfred Carlton of Dayton; her son, John (Natasha) Carlton of Dayton; her brother, Harold (Rebecca) DePriest of Cleveland; her sister-in-law, Carolyn Gregorio in Round Rock, TX and her sister-in-law, Jane DePriest in Apison, TN.

A Celebration of Life service for Jane will be held on Friday, August 9, 2024, at 4:00 p.m. in the funeral home parlor.

Please share your memories and photos of Jane on her online guest register at