Jane Hough was the first lady of Salem.

Hough, who died Aug. 11 at age 91, was the first woman to be elected to Salem City Council and held that place in history until the second Jane, Jane Johnson, was elected in 2004. Hough was known for her genteel qualities, her place in and appreciation of Salem’s history, her patience as a math teacher and her gardens at the home she and her husband, Franklin, shared for many years on Market Street.

The former school teacher served three terms on council from 1972 until 1984, having initially run because she wanted to see the fledgling city (formed in 1968 from Roanoke County) and the county develop a strong, cooperative school system. Regional cooperation was not common in those days, when smaller localities such as Salem had until recently been threatened with annexation of their assets by larger localities like Roanoke City. Hough was in favor of regional partnerships, according to news items from that period, and she wanted to see results instead of bickering.

Friends in the Salem Garden Club to which she belonged for more than 40 years recalled Hough as knowledgeable and strong, with a velvet exterior. She was “the epitome of a southern lady; she ruled the house without letting the ‘men’ know it!” said member Carol Buriak, who was also a former neighbor. Hough was president in 1958-60 of the garden club of which her grandmother, Carolina Harveycutter, was a charter member. Hough kept up recollections of the club’s 91-years of history which is preserved in the Salem Museum, and was active in the Salem Garden Club until moving over to honorary member status when she moved to Salem Terrace. Current Salem Garden Club President Connie Stone added that Jane Hough shared many stories of her life on garden trips the two took, and she had gained a tremendous knowledge of landscape design from traveling.

“Jane was an amazing, brilliant and strong teacher. She was an individual who was loathe to accept anything less than one’s best efforts,” said Salem Garden Club member Frankie Robbins who recalled how Hough taught her brother as a homebound student when he was a junior at Andrew Lewis High School after he had a ruptured appendix. Jane Johnson, who is now the city’s first woman to be vice mayor, counted on Jane Hough for her counsel. She said she sought out Hough when she was first considering running for Salem City Council. “She was a great lady,” Johnson said in an email, adding that Hough encouraged her and cheered on the city as it worked to advance and grow. “I was very appreciative of her leadership and sharing her story with me,” Johnson wrote in an email.

Salem City Council honored Jane Hough with a moment of silence at the opening of its meeting Monday night. Her memorial service will be held on Friday, Aug. 31, at 1 p.m. in her church, St. Paul’s Episcopal on Main Street in Salem.