Janet Sue Cole

JUNE 10, 1981 - OCTOBER 3, 2011

Janet Sue Cole, 30 was born at Saint Luke’s Memorial Hospital in Boise, Idaho on June 10, 1981. She was taken from us all too soon, and passed away on Monday, October 3, 2011 at Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield, California. Our Janet graduated from Meridian High School in Meridian, ID in June 2000. She was an accomplished artist and author, and had a multitude of paintings, drawings, and poems. She shared these openly with her family and friends. It was her dream to have her poetry published and her artwork shown publicly.

Janet always loved Boise and considered it her home. She had numerous friends and family that she loved and held dearly, including her best friend Selena Ashby and close cousins Alethia Dahlin and Heather Roher. However; at the age of 28, “our sunshine girl” was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. After the initial diagnosis, she moved to Bakersfield to live with her mother and step-father. She fought valiantly and was helped along the way by the professional and encouraging oncology team, family practice team and other multi-disciplinary medical staff, at Kern Medical Center and The Ronald Reagan, UCLA Medical Center. During her many hospital stays, she developed a deep respect and love for the wonderful physicians and multitude of fine nurses at Kern Medical Center. Janet touched the lives of nearly everyone she met, making many new friends along the way. During her stay in Bakersfield she developed warm and lasting friendships with her “second Moms” and dear friends: Elaine (Greg) Hull, Patsy (Gary) Grijalva, Shelly (Ken) Wonderly, Tracy (Chad) Dixon, Dina (Mike) Kretsinger, Debbie (Brian) Prendez, Maria (Andy) Farkus, and last but far from least Nurse Kara.

As much as Janet had loved and appreciated everyone in California, she had a deep desire to return to her hometown of Boise. She had written pages of lists of “things I want to do in Idaho,” including walking the Boise “Greenbelt with friends regularly,” participating in the Idaho “Women’s Fitness Celebration every year - train to run it if possible someday”; going on “Cancer Survivor walks/events” and taking classes in College. Her dreams were taken away all too soon.

Janet is survived by her parents Dennis (Tina) Cole of Boise, ID; Debra (David) Harder of Bakersfield, CA; her brother James (Katy) Cole, of Reno, NV; step-sisters: Shawnie (Kevin) Hornberger, Traci (Matt) Palmer, and Kailey Hicks of Bakersfield, CA; step-brother’s, Jerrod (Brie) Marshall of Firestone, CO, and Cody Hicks of Bakersfield; numerous step-nephews and nieces, uncles, aunts and cousins. She was preceded in death by her uncle: David Brian Lee of Reno, NV, grandmothers, Sally Ann Lee of Tucson, AZ and Vivian Faye Cole, of Boise, ID. A memorial service will be held on Saturday at 2pm at Mish Funeral Home 120 Minner Ave, Bakersfield, CA 93308.

We Love you Janet and pray we see you again soon.

On the death of a friend

How mysterious,

That one who was so recently full of bloom

And beauty-

Could in a mere instant- not be so.

A memory of then restless hands.

You nonchalantly shrugged off inconvenience

Every day.

Oh my dear.

My friend.

You are beyond inconvenience now.

Your journey has only begun-

And I will meet you on some tree lined path

In a distant afternoon.

- Janet Sue Cole

Arrangements under the direction of Mish Funeral Home, Bakersfield, CA.