Janet Bingham Wasson

Jan was born in Syracuse, NY, April 19, 1934, to Frances Jane Johnson and Ralph Ambrose Bingham to a long time Upstate New York family. She attended Elmira Free Academy and summered up until age 15 at one of the Finger Lakes, Otisco. She then moved sequentially with her family to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Puerto Rico while her father worked for Westinghouse opening factories in Latin America. Jan returned to the US for college attending Principia College in Elsah, Illinois.

After college, Jan worked in Washington D.C. as a CIA typist, then as a staff member at the Graham-Eckes school in Palm Beach, FL. Subsequently, she married Channell Mott Wasson in 1956 a marriage lasting 60 years. After Channell’s postings in the US NAVY, the couple moved to New York City where Jan was a private Secretary and then they eventually settled in Palo Alto California in 1958. Jan taught 6th grade at Portola Valley Elementary until having children, Wendy in 1961 and Chip in 1965. She founded Janet Wasson Interiors in 1968 and continued a robust, busy and successful business until 2012 when she retired. Her firm produced multiple large and small home and commercial projects. Garden design, reading, Architecture and Art were lifelong passions. In 1971, Jan talked Channell into buying a Julia Morgan house out of an estate and this became a lifelong passion of restoring and respecting the architecture of Julia Morgan. Jan also worked with English garden designer Alan Gore to shape a beautiful garden featuring majestic California Oaks, pleached alley of trees, lovely roses, creative hedging, a legacy persimmon and orange tree and a vegetable patch a la her father’s 1930’s depression vegetable garden at the Lake Otisco cottage. Jan was a great mother- driving for tennis tournaments all over California and soccer too. She completed a three-year botanical course required to become a docent at Filoli House and Garden in Woodside, CA. In her 60’s, Jan started playing and practicing golf whenever she could eventually joining San Francisco Golf Club, Ladies Auxiliary and also joining the women at Palo Alto Municipal. Her favorite place to play with Channell was Moffett Field followed by dinner on El Camino at the Fish House. Jan loved travel and spent a great amount of time in Baja California. We remember her loving the sea swimming and snorkeling and family cooking at Casa Amarilla, a house she built and shared with her dear family friends. In her early 80’s after being widowed, Jan moved to Palm Beach to be with family for the last 6 years of her life. She joined Everglades Club and was known for her talents in the putting contests and learning to play croquet. She enjoyed painting classes. She was a voracious reader of biography and history and counted her book group friends as close friends. Jan was a “competitive” gin rummy player and loved cards.

Jan was a member of Colonial Dames and The Mayflower Society. She is survived by her daughter Wendy Bingham Cox, her son Channell “Chip” Bingham Wasson and her cherished grandchildren. Grace and Frances Bingham, Luke and Charlotte Wasson.