Janice Witt Russell

Jan was a modest and unassuming person, quiet and respectful of others. She was not 'talkative'. Instead, it has been said of her that she held her tongue until she had something worthwhile to say, and then what she said was direct, relevant, and meaningful. She was not boastful or self-promoting, choosing to stay out of the spotlight. She was a trustworthy and faithful servant of God.

Jan's calm and reserved demeanor reflected her upbringing by parents Fred and Louise Witt, who both came from large German farming and ranching families near LaGrange, Texas. The Witts owned Acme Glass Company in Victoria while Jan was growing up, and they worked long hours 6 days a week to make it successful. Their work schedule necessitated their leaving Jan and her sisters Diane and Sharon with "the aunts" (Alma, Laura, and Nola) many days after school and on weekends. The aunts lived together in a house near Fred and Louise. Alma was a seamstress and Laura and Nola ran a hair salon attached to their house. Aunt Alma made all the girls' dresses for school as well as for church and special occasions. Jan's parents and her aunts seldom took vacations and went out to eat only once a week after church on Sundays. They paid cash for everything, even their house and cars. They were examples to the girls of being thrifty, working hard to benefit your family and managing your finances conservatively.

Jan told of having a very tough day emotionally her first day of school in the first grade. She was embarrassed that she was so far behind the other kids because she had not gone to kindergarten or been taught many academic skills at home due to her parents having to work so hard and long hours in their business. She credited her older sister Diane with helping her make it through the early grades. In high school, Jan played clarinet in the band and sang in the church choir. Jan and Ron started dating in their junior year and continued throughout the rest of high school and college. Besides Jan being a beautiful young lady, Ron appreciated and respected her kind and soft-spoken nature and her deep faith in God. She was commonly thought of by friends and acquaintances as one of the sweetest people they knew.

Jan went to Victoria College and transferred to the University of Houston Pharmacy School. She wanted to be a pharmacist to use that knowledge and training to benefit her family and others. Jan and Ron got married after four years of college. With Ron working for the electric utility in Houston, Jan finished her fifth year (internship) of pharmacy school and started her first pharmacist job at St Luke's Episcopal Hospital in the Texas Medical Center. She worked there three years before Ron was transferred and they moved to Bay City. Even though St. Luke's was a prestigious place to land her first job, Jan was willing to leave there, saying to Ron then and always, "Wherever you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay" (Ruth 1:16-17) After moving to Bay City, Jan worked part time as a relief pharmacist there and subsequently at numerous drug stores around the state as they moved around for Ron's job assignments. Jan eventually retired from her pharmacy career to raise daughters Emily and Erin.

Jan's interest in sewing was in part inspired by Aunt Alma, the seamstress. Jan had seemingly unlimited patience in completing difficult quilts and other sewing projects. Her interest and skill in cooking and baking was inspired by her Mom. Her family and many others benefited from Jan's natural talent in the kitchen, to include many holiday meals for extended family and bake sales and meals at church.

Jan's appreciation for gardening and animals was cultivated by the fact that her parents always had a large garden and also because she got to visit her aunts and uncles' farms and ranches around LaGrange. This included the Frerichs' Dairy Farm where as a small girl she was allowed to milk the cows and got to play and do chores with her cousins Helen and Robert. Twenty years later, Jan and Ron were blessed to live on thirty acres near Fairfield Texas with cattle, hay meadows and stock ponds. This was one of Jan's favorite times of her life.

Jan's life was dedicated to her family and service to others. Everywhere she and Ron lived, she was active in the congregation there. She always helped with Alter Guild, LWML, World Relief Quilts, banners and other sewing ministries, bake sales, etc. She and Ron were youth group adult leaders at their church in Bay City. In Fairfield, she designed the large stained glass window at the front of the new sanctuary which she and Ron helped build, together with the Laborers for Christ. In Friendswood, Jan was involved in practically all the ladies ministries, and she became a Girl Scout Leader for Erin's troop. Jan began homeschooling while in Friendswood, continuing when the family moved to Austin in 2009.

In Austin, Jan once again became active in numerous ministries at Bethany Lutheran Church, including the Lutheran Church Charities (LCC) K9 Comfort Dog ministry. She was one of the first dog handlers trained for the ministry in Austin and took on many weekly and ad hoc assignments to take the dogs to visit people in need in the Austin area and beyond. She also volunteered for disaster deployments to sites of mass shootings and natural disasters.

Jan loved to curl up on the couch with a cup of tea and watch a Hallmark movie with Phoebe (her own Corgi comfort dog) by her side. Her favorite movies were Jayne Ayre, Pride and Prejudice, Sherlock Holmes and seemingly anything British. Her favorite musical groups were the Who, the Eagles, Three Dog Night and Stevie Ray Vaughn. She tirelessly worked on bandannas for Bethany's Comfort Dogs, sewing, embroidering, then washing and ironing Abner's bandannas as they were worn. She loved pulling weeds and planting vegetables. She loved her bluebonnets in the front yard. She worked on quilt tops for Lutheran World Relief, projects for the Johnson City Quilters' Guild, and quilts and other sewed items for family members. She loved the quilting retreats where she got to visit with Sandy Knecht, her best friend from college who lives nearby. Ron retired in mid-2019, and she and Ron began making plans for building a greenhouse and other improvements around the house and continuing with the Comfort Dog ministry.

In August of 2019, Jan and Ron deployed with the comfort dogs to El Paso, in response to the Walmart mass shooting. It was over 100 degrees every day, and Jan had a very hard time physically completing the assignment, but with God's help she did it and returned home. A few days later she learned Emily was pregnant with her first grandchild. Two weeks later, Jan was taken to the emergency room, and a large ovarian tumor was found by ultrasound. This began Jan's year-long fight with cancer.

Jan fought on through the pain of major abdominal surgery at MD Anderson, two return trips to the hospital with complications, then radiation and chemotherapy and finally a last-ditch clinical trial. The evil disease adapted to every treatment until the time came when "further treatment would do more harm than good". Throughout this fight, Jan always relied on God's plan for her, whatever it may be. She was always positive and kept sewing things for her daughters and grandson Henry, even sewing masks for her family to wear during the COVID-19 pandemic while she was undergoing chemotherapy. Near the end, after Emily and David drove non-stop from Washington DC to Houston, she got to meet and hold her seven month old only grandchild Henry.

Jan and her family were greatly honored at her funeral by the attendance of LCC K9 Comfort Dog Teams from around the state (Ft Worth, Plano, Katy, Houston) and the two dogs at Bethany, Abner and Martha, as well as many relatives from the LaGrange area, Bethany friends and co-workers in God's service. Diane and her family were able to watch the funeral via live stream, along with some of Jan and Ron's high school friends back in Victoria and around Texas.

Jan is special and cannot be replaced, but we know that she has gone Home and we will see her again soon. Until then, she will be remembered, loved and honored in our hearts forever.

* * * * * * * * * *

Jan Russell, age 66, of Dripping Springs, Texas, passed away on Friday September 18th after a year-long battle with cancer.

Jan was born in Victoria, Texas on August 30, 1954, graduated from Victoria High and received a degree in Pharmacy from the University of Houston in 1977.

Jan married her high school sweetheart Ron Russell on May 22, 1976. She started her career as a pharmacist at St Luke’s Episcopal Hospital at the Texas Medical Center in Houston in 1977. As she and Ron moved around the state due to Ron’s job assignments, she transitioned into the role of a retail relief pharmacist until she retired to focus on raising her daughters.

Her family was blessed by her generosity, compassion, patience and calm demeanor. She was a naturally talented cook and gardener and a creative seamstress. Most importantly, her faith and moral character were powerful examples to her family and others.

Jan took nearly every opportunity to participate in service work within her home congregations in Bay City, Fairfield, Friendswood and Austin. Such work included being youth leaders (with Ron), sewing Lutheran World Relief quilts and clothing, helping with food preparation, fund raising activities, and most recently working in the K9 Comfort Dog Ministry at Bethany Lutheran Church in Austin. Until she got sick, she was able to go with the dogs (Abner and Martha) and other handlers and ministry helpers to Share the Mercy, Compassion, Presence and Proclamation of Jesus Christ to those who are suffering and in need (Lutheran Church Charities’ mission statement) at senior living facilities, schools, social services centers, disaster deployments and other places. She also enjoyed her work sessions and retreats with the ladies of the Johnson City Quilting Guild.

Jan’s smile and cheerful spirit will be missed by her family and friends, but her memory will sustain us until we meet again.

Jan is survived by daughters Emily Blamire of Silver Spring, Maryland and Erin Russell of Dripping Springs, Texas, grandson Henry Friedrich Blamire of Silver Spring, Maryland, sisters Diane Witt Schulte of Kirksville, Missouri and Sharon Witt Hynes of Dripping Springs, Texas as well as her husband of 44 years, Ron Russell of Dripping Springs, Texas.

Donations (in lieu of flowers) are requested to be made to Bethany Lutheran Church, 3701 Slaughter Lane, Austin, Texas 78749 (earmarked for the K9 Comfort Dog Ministry) or online at https://www.bethanyaustin.com/comfort.

Jan’s memorial service at 11:00am Thursday September 24th will be live-streamed at https://www.bethanyaustin.com/funeral.

Favorite Scripture Passages:

1 Peter 4:10

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.

Isaiah 6:8

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”