Janet B. MacNutt

1935 - 2010

Jan was born Janet Ann Burwell in Toledo, Ohio and spent her early childhood there. The family moved to Kenmore, NY when World War II came along and she attended grade school in Kenmore just outside Buffalo. After the war, the Burwell family moved to the Detroit area and Jan attended Berkley High School in that suburb of Detroit.

Jan and her brother and mother would spend each summer at their cottage on Torch Lake in northern Michigan. Her father would fly up from Detroit on weekends. Both her mother and her father were from small towns in that part of Michigan, and they still had many friends and relatives there. Jan was sure Torch Lake was “The most beautiful place on earth.” She had many fond memories of her summers at Torch Lake.

After graduation from Berkley High School in 1954, Jan attended a small girl’s school, Milwaukee Downer, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After one year at Milwaukee Downer, Jan transferred to the University of Michigan where she received her Bachelor’s degree. She then went on to receive a Master’s degree in Psychiatric Social Work from the University of Michigan.

While she was working on her Master’s degree, she met LaMar MacNutt, a young dental school student. They fell in love, and two years later they were married. Right after the wedding, they packed all of their belongings into LaMar’s car and moved to Florida. They eventually settled in Clearwater, Florida and raised their five girls in the house on Magnolia Drive.

Jan made sure that life was about family. Each night the whole family would sit down for dinner together. Her family was always the number one priority for Jan. She was very involved in the schools the girls attended. Jan went back to school herself to become a Dental Hygienist once all of the girls were in school and then worked in the office with her husband one or two days a week.

Jan made beautiful quilts. She loved quilt making and made quilts for each of her daughters and each of her grandchildren. She also made baby quilts for the grandchildren of all of her friends. She was a very accomplished seamstress and loved to sew.

Jan was a strong Christian and was very involved in the life of Trinity Presbyterian Church. She headed many committees, served as an elder, taught Sunday school for many years and played the piano for the children’s choir. She sang in the choir and was the chair of the search committee for a new pastor in 1988.

Jan was also very active in the community. She spent many years on the city of Clearwater’s Historic Preservation Board. She was given an honorary Key to the City for her work on that board. She did the research that led to the inclusion of her home and neighborhood on the List of Historic Places.

Jan loved her God, her family, and her friends, and that love shone out to everyone who knew her. Her friends and family will miss her always, but we know that she is with her God.

She is survived by her husband of 51 years, LaMar; her 5 daughters; Alicia (Scott), Marla (Brian), Shannon (Marc), Jo (Lee) and Amy (Michael); a brother, James and 14 grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers donations may made to Alzheimer's Association, P.O. Box 96011, Washington, DC 20090-6011 or www.alz.org

There will be a memorial service Saturday, September 4, 11AM at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 2001 Rainbow Dr, Clearwater, FL 33765.

www.mossfeasterclearwater.com

Arrangements under the direction of Moss Feaster Funeral Home, Clearwater, FL.