On April 20th, 2020, Janet Louise Boyle (Fitzner) died at home in her sleep after a 35 year struggle with Parkinson's disease. She was born on May 22nd, 1950, in Sandy Point N.S. and grew up in Halifax, the oldest of four children. She attended St. Stephen's, St. Pat's High, then graduated from St. Mary's University and Dalhousie, with BA and a BEd. After that she began her teaching career at LeMarchant St. Thomas Elementary School.
On September 23rd, 1966, at the St. Pat's "Howdy" dance she met Tom, her love for life. From that day on they were inseparable. They married on Aug 5th, 1972, after which she used her teacher's salary to put him through Dal Dental school. Janet was a fixture in the extended family of the class of '78, organizing and attending multiple social events. We made many lasting friendships in those years and pretty soon we became super tight with fellow Dent student Al Dean and his future wife Janet. Many trips to the States were followed by yearly stays at Janet and Al's Coxheath estate.
A couple years after Tom's graduation, Janet gave birth to Kerry. From that day forward the couple became a trio, doing everything together. Janet's parenting style was to have Kerry grow up an independent thinker. There were no bedtimes. Even if we could save money by ordering off the kids menu, Kerry would have no part in it. Janet passed on her own stubborn nature to Kerry. Throughout Kerry's school years the house became a magnet for Kerry's many friends, partially lured there by Janet's never empty legendary candy drawer. Just as legendary were Janet's Christmas Eve and New Years Eve parties, where she included a draw for presents she had handpicked and wrapped for all the guests. Even after Parkinson's began to take its toll, her many trips and restaurant dinners continued.
After 20 years of teaching her declining health forced her to retire. Then in 2000 her neurologist, Dr. David King, persuaded Dr. Ivar Mendes to perform the first deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's in Nova Scotia. Her courage and bravery led her to have the surgery that she was warned was possibly life threatening. Her words to Dr. Mendes were "I want to get my life back." After the success of the operation she was declared a QEII Miracle Patient and participated in a fundraising campaign with her face featured on metro busses for a couple of years. At the campaign gala she made a speech encouraging donors to give, and Parkinson's sufferers to have the courage to get their lives back too.
Music had always been a huge part of Janet's life. She grew up with a transistor radio attached to her head. She loved The Beatles. When Kerry was little we dragged her to The Moody Blues at Hershey Park, and McCartney at three venues on his 89-90 tour to name just a couple. If you walked into our house the first thing you noticed was loud music. In the days when her health began to fail, she found solace and inspiration in music. Celine Dion gave her strength. She cried when she saw her live. After the DBS surgery gave her 'her life' back, Janet's concert going ways went into overdrive, seeing favorites like Paul McCartney, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Chris Isaak , Tom Petty, Ringo Starr, and the Rolling Stones multiple times along with Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen among many others. Just two years ago she attended several concerts at Mohegan Sun, her favorite venue. She saw Frankie Vallee twice there, silently singing every word she knew by heart.
In later years Parkinson's had robbed of her voice, but not her spirit. After 12 years of improved health a brain infection led Dr. Mendes to remove her stimulator, causing her mobility to greatly diminish. She always had a strong group of family and friends, and they became critical in the final 8 years of her life. Doris Wells, Janet's closest childhood friend, visited countless times bringing treats, gifts, conversation and love. Evelyn Higgins, once Janet's best party friend, later became her number one evening care giver when Tom had meetings, bringing burgers, shakes and movies to watch. Janet's teaching companion, Doreen Mullane, quickly morphed into one of her best friends. Along with her husband Denny, sister Jeannette Donovan and her husband Steve. They early on became cherished travel, shopping and dining companions over many years in Florida, and even more at home in her later years. Her long time hairdresser and friend Toni Pagnottella, styled Janet's hair on a weekly basis for the last 10 years. Her husband Pino and their children Giovanni and Alessandra made Janet a part of their family from the beginning. Over the past 8 years, Jean Huxter, kept Janet company while Tom was at work. Tom's brother Mike and his wife Pat went on numerous trips, from New England to Florida with Janet, Tom, and Kerry in the early days and in later days when Janet was less mobile helped her in and out of the local restaurants they all loved so much. They spent many evenings with Janet when dental meetings took Tom out of the house. Many times over the years we traveled to Toronto to visit her in-laws Ted and Mariam. Over the last several years they have stayed at our house two weeks every summer when it was harder for Janet to travel. Janet cherished these summer visits. Janet's sisters, Joan and Karen, were her best friends her entire life. She read them stories when they were young, topped up their allowance when she worked part-time at Sears as a teen, took them on trips all over the east coast before they got married and after that went on numerous joint vacations together with their young families to Cape Cod, Williamsburg, Florida, and outlets all over the North East. As long as we can remember the family all got together for weekly Saturday muffins. They adored their big sister and she adored them.
On her final day Janet walked down the stairs on her own, had a good breakfast, and fell asleep on the coach with her head on Tom's shoulder watching TV. He fed her lunch, then slipped off to make a couple of phone calls, and put on dinner. Forty minutes later she had died in her sleep.
Janet was predeceased by her father and mother, Bob and Dot Fitzner and by her mother-in-law, Dolly Boyle. She is survived by her husband Dr. Tom Boyle, daughter Kerry Woodley, husband Dave, who quickly became the son Janet never had, and their four daughters, Hazel, Greta, Oona and Wilma. She is also survived by her siblings, Robert Fitzner, Joan Hobrecker (Paul), Karen Fitzner, brothers-in-law, Ted Boyle (Miriam), and Mike Boyle (Pat). Her nieces, nephews and their children, namely Leigh Fitzner-LeBlanc (Meg), Ian Fitzner-LeBlanc (Anne Marie) and their children Owen and Abby, Mars Hobrecker (Coco), Kyla Boyle (Jeremy) and their children Atticus and Opal, and Alexander Boyle. And lastly she will be missed by her cat and constant companion Kosby.
We would be remiss not to thank Janet's medical care providers Dr. Morris Trager, Dr. Tim Brown, Dr. David King and Dr. Ivar Mendes, and their staffs, who greatly extended and improved her life. Janet's friends were numerous and she cherished them all. She will be missed by the faculty and staff at Dal Dental School, where she rarely missed a graduation or Christmas ball. Not to be left out are Menashe Cieplinski and his wife Nancy, who became forever friends. Nancy baked gourmet goodies and they included us in all their family gatherings.
Janet packed a lot into a life that was cruelly cut short. She will be remembered for her generous and loving nature, her often wicked sense of fun and humor, her determination to live life to its fullest, her sense of style, and her professional class sewing skills, having made gowns, dresses, Halloween costumes and curtains too numerous to count. Through all her health problems Janet never complained once and rarely missed a party. She remained the centre of her family and friends, as she had been the organizer her whole life. Many of her students have said she was their favorite teacher ever, and all her acquaintances said they never had a truer friend. Her absence from our lives will be deeply felt by all who knew and loved her.
Dr. Boyle would like to thank his staff, Susan, Catherine, and Alexandria for all the kindness they showed Janet over these last few years, and all the dental care they provided her. In these last few weeks of social isolation they have sent all sorts of goodies to keep Janet going when it was tough for Tom to get out to the stores. In lieu of flowers, donations in her name can be made to the Parkinson's Society of Nova Scotia, or Adsum House, Janet's other favorite charity.
From the fist second I saw Janet, I knew my life had been changed forever. She was stunningly beautiful and wickedly funny. Within weeks we were planning our wedding. After awhile her parents got used to that idea. Lots of our early dates would include her sisters. Joan always sat in the middle front seat, Karen in the back. I spent our entire married life trying to keep her happy and safe. I'd make up silly songs to accompany the care giving tasks of these last few years. It was really hard for her when she was no longer allowed to drive the car. She loved driving, the freedom it gave her and the ability to go where she wanted when she wanted. Kerry remembers driving in her mother's sports car when she was young. Janet would let her shift gears while she handled the clutch. Janet had a wonderful life, filled with family, great friends, joy, love and the challenges she met every day. She also loved the sun. When not in Florida she spent many hours sunbathing on our back deck. Sometimes having her favorite things, champagne and chocolate. She had a contagious spirit, a beautiful smile, a twinkle in her eye and a dogged determination to live. I'm so lucky to have had her in my life. I never thought this day would come. My heart has been ripped out. I can't believe she's gone.
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