Phone: (831) 476-2667

The "Story" Behind Handyman Co-op

It was 1982. Jane Story’s late husband, Paul, a design engineer by profession, came up with the idea of creating a handyman business with affordable prices and reliable, versatile, skilled tradesmen to serve the community. It was also the intention to up-grade the handyman image with workers of integrity and to give personalized, friendly attention to clients. Thus, the Handyman Co-op was born.

Jane’s background was music and theatre as a singer-actress, but she quickly adapted to dispatching the workers, handling the books and keeping a home-based business running smoothly… in addition to maintaining her career as an entertainer.

As a student at the University of Pacific in Stockton, she had entered the Miss California Contest and won the talent and swimsuit awards as “Miss Stockton”. This catapulted her into a professional show business career with roles in the national company of “South Pacific”, “My Fair Lady” and “Follies. She then created her one-woman show of Broadway excerpts, which toured the country. More recently she re-vamped her show as a cabaret-dinner theatre act, “Just Plain Jane” which enjoyed success locally at Bocci’s, the Bayview Hotel, the Kuumbwa and the Carmel Mission Inn.

She has a loyal and growing clientele of homeowners, landlords, property managers and realtors; she gives special attention to women’s handyman needs and always has a skilled and versatile handywoman available.

Jane is a health and fitness advocate with a regimen of yoga, beach walks and healthy nutrition. Although she no longer entertains, she enthusiastically supports the local musical and theatrical scene. She is available to speak before women’s groups to give motivational talks on refusing to allow age to be a barrier in realizing one’s physical, intellectual or spiritual potential.