Janet moved with her Mother to Oregon in 1953 having been diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 15 months old. She received the first of many orthopedic surgeries in 1953 at Shriner’s Hospital. She spent a considerable amount of time at Shriner’s getting the recommended surgeries & did develop a fear of clowns during her time there. Janet lived with her Mother & her older sister Justine Jackson until 11 years old in 11/1957 she entered the Fairview Training Center (FTC) in Salem, Oregon. Her Mother had health considerations which prevented her from continuing to care for Janet.
Janet spent 32 years at the FTC before moving to Clatskanie, Oregon in June of 1989 where she developed a great friendship with Lenny he would sing her songs like Don’t Break My Heart My Achy Breaky Heart and she would beam and laugh. They remained Pen Pals for many years and around 2006 she rode one of the last TRAIN ADVENTURES to Astoria, and then drove back to Clatskanie to make a visit with Lenny, he sang to her and their love for each other was evident in their smiles.
Janet’s family lost contact with her sometime around 1978, 21 years after she moved into Fairview Training Center. Staff made efforts to locate her sister under her married name of Justine Yeoman however were unable to locate her to reunite them. Many of Janet’s staff became like family to her, staying in touch with her even after retiring or taking different jobs. Her longtime G. I. Specialist said that Janet was seductive, in that she could talk you into things related to her amazing charisma.
In June of 1994 Janet moved to the Troutdale Group Home.
In 1994 Janet was interviewed by The Gresham Outlook newspaper about an idea to create a park with better access for those with disabilities with special adaptive equipment & paths that are wheelchair accessible.
In October of 2014 she moved to the Hillyard Group Home in Gresham to be closer to longtime staff she had bonded with. Janet really thrived at this Albertina Kerr Care Home where staff saw her ABILITY to extend her vocabulary and engage with housemates, she liked to cook, especially baking cakes. Janet never saw an EGG she didn’t like. Even though Janet no longer was able to eat orally due to health concerns, it brought her GREAT PLEASURE to watch and supervise her housemates eating. Janet was a great fan of the TV show The Great British Baking Show, especially Paul Hollywood.
She also liked flirting on a sunny day with the UPS guys in shorts, and made sure she got her Firemen’s Calendar of the “hunks” to keep at her bedside. One staff would say she was a hoot with her man craziness, she would blow kisses at strangers. She loved to hug. She was a bit of a shopaholic and always wanted to be dressed to the nines.
Janet liked to work, sorting things or supervising other people’s work. She could be a bit “bossy” she figured she knew best how to take care of her housemates & if a new staff wasn’t following the normal routine she would be sure to make it known.
Staff said it was a good sign if she stuck her tongue out at you, it showed she thought you cut the mustard. She loved joking and playing little tricky games on staff. She thrived on drama and gossip and enjoyed getting in on a funny story.
Janet has always enjoyed music & attention, very much a people person. One of her favorite songs was You Are My Sunshine, she learned how to sing it from her music therapist and would sing it often to and with the staff who cared for her.
Her longtime friends who had met her first by having the privilege of caring for her gathered around her bedside, with tears, saying goodbye to one of the GREAT ONE’S the FAMOUS LADY we grew to LOVE, so hard to see this sunshine take leave of her earthly body, knowing she is able to dance and sing freely comforts our hearts.
She was preceded in death by her longtime friends Regina Rene Chambers & Robert Elgin Spaulding, they are REUNITED & IT FEELS SO GOOD
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