October 2 Speaker Bio

Jaan Ingle Troltenier

Biographical Information

Jaan was born in the second capital of the Confederacy (Richmond, VA) and grew up in a city

subject to a famous Western theater campaign held in late 1863 (Chattanooga, TN). But please
don’t hold her Rebel roots against her!

As the daughter of an American History professor, Jaan visited numerous Civil War sites as a

child, although her interests today are oriented more to such topics as the medical aspects of
the War and the semiotics of period dress than to battlefield logistics. She holds Bachelor’s
degrees in Spanish and in Latin, and received her Master’s in Linguistics from Louisiana State
University, an institution whose first superintendent back in 1859, oddly enough, was none other
than William Tecumseh Sherman.

Jaan has been a docent with Art Goes to School, an elementary school art history program, for

nine years. As part of this program she has impersonated such 20th century artists as Frida
Kahlo and Sonia Delaunay, and 17th century male artist Diego Velazquez. In addition, she gives
programs at the local high schools’ language programs in the art of Germany, Mexico, France,
and in Cajun French.

Jaan has been a resident of West Chester since 2005 and lives here with her husband, Dirk, and

their two children. Dirk and she have been members of BVCWRT since 2012.