Janet L. Reilly

Janet Louise (Young) Reilly, 82, of San Diego, California passed on Friday, July 22nd, 2011 in her home surrounded by her family. She lived her life according to her own rules—to laugh often and love everyday. She had a long and fulfilled life.

Born in Easton, Pennsylvania to George Kenneth and Alice Irene (Frace) Young, Janet was raised in Avenel, New Jersey where she graduated from Woodbridge High School in 1946. From here she enrolled in the Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing in Newark, NJ and graduated in 1949 as a Registered Nurse.

Janet met her beloved husband Jack in 1952 under inauspicious circumstances. After being set up on a blind double date they soon realized that they had more in common with each other than their dates. On their first official date they attended a dance and, after getting over a few early hurdles, quickly fell in love. Janet was introduced to Jack’s family at the Jersey Shore, a location where the family continues to reunite each summer. They married the next year on June 20th, 1953 in Newport, Rhode Island. On June 20, 2003 they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in the same hotel, surrounded by family and friends.

Jack promised to show Janet the world. Over the next 50 years he kept his word. One of Janet’s favorite trips was a cruise to South America. They also toured Australia, Asia and Europe, often cruising with family and friends. In 2003 they set foot on the African continent, fufilling the dream of seeing the world.

1953 marked not only her wedding to Jack but the start of a second career as a Navy Wife. This career brought her and her ever expanding family from the rocky beaches of Rhode Island to the rich farmlands of New Jersey and the tidelands of Virginia before finally settling on the sunny shores of San Diego.

During this period of their lives Janet continued her three fold career of mom, navy wife and nurse. Her early nursing experiences were in emergency rooms in New Jersey and Norfolk, Virginia, ranging from a small town hospital in a former home to a busy city general hospital. She was known for her tender loving care. While working at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, she became very close to the many children and families who were battling cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. Janet completed her nursing career at the Naval Medical Center San Diego (Balboa Hospital) as the charge nurse in the pediatric clinic, retiring in 1977.

Janet was a loving wife, devoted mother to her six children, and loyal friend. If you knew Janet personally then you knew what true love and pure laughter were all about. You knew and appreciated her joyful spirit, her kindness and pure love of life. Spending time with her family was her greatest joy. Nothing made her happier than seeing a smile or hearing a laugh coming from one of her six grandchildren.

Janet was very rarely without a book in hand, she loved delving into the pages of a good read and wrapping herself up in her imagination. She especially enjoyed collecting cookbooks and recipes to try out with her family and friends. She was also an avid sports fan, always supporting her Padres and Chargers through the good times and bad.

In support of her husband's Naval career and business, Propulsion Controls Engineering, Janet became a member of the Women's Propeller Club of the United States. As with everything else in her life, when Janet made a commitment she dove in head first and never looked back. This eventually brought her to being elected president of the Port of San Diego Club and because of her hard work she was also elected as the National President. In 1998, after many years of hard work and dedication, Janet became the first woman recognized as the International Propeller Club "Maritime Person of the Year". Janet accepted this honor with her usual mix of humility and gratitude.

The life of Janet Reilly cannot be summed up in a couple of pages. It cannot do her justice to briefly describe who she truly was or what she accomplished. "Live life to the fullest" was not just a saying to Janet, it was a way of life for her. She spent everyday showing those she loved how to get the best out of life.

She will dearly missed by those she leaves behind, which include her four sons, Jack and his wife Lori, Mark, Matthew, Timothy and his wife Ana, and two daughters, Susan Reilly, Kathleen Reid and her husband Robert; six grandchildren, Erica, Vanessa, Skylar, Olivia, Luke and Lauren; two nephews and a niece; as well as the entire extended Reilly family.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by Jack, her beloved husband of 57 years; and her brother, Edwin R. Young.