Janet Ruth Cranmer

October 30, 1948 – June 15, 2017

Janet Ruth Cranmer, age 68, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family, on June 15, 2017. She is preceded in death by her parents, Betty Lou (Ezell) and Mike F. Taylor. Janet is survived by her son, Jay Cranmer of Palmer Lake, CO; daughter, Laura Cranmer of Centennial, CO; sister, Nancy Taylor of Sherwood, OR; and brothers, Stan (Ruth) Taylor of Eugene, OR and Gary (Susan) Taylor of Lincoln, MA. She also leaves a wide circle of friends, many of whom became "family" over the years because of her steadfast love and caring for them.

Janet grew up happily in Wichita, KS, where she graduated from North High School and Bethel College. She had fond memories of touring Europe with the Bethel Choir. Janet then attended accounting classes at Wichita State University, attained accreditation as a CPA, and followed her father into the accounting profession, joining the firm of Haskins and Sells.

She met and fell in love with Jim Cranmer, and they were married in January of 1969. Over the next few years Jay and Laura were born and the Cranmer family settled in the Denver area, near where Janet's parents had relocated. Janet worked as financial officer for Jefferson Bank & Trust, Beverage Distributors, Corp. and then Buckhorn Pipeline.

At Thanksgiving 1982, Janet's life took a tragic turn. On a holiday trip to Steamboat Springs the family was involved in a traffic accident in which she suffered a severe spinal injury that left her in a wheel chair for the rest of her life. With two small children to raise, Janet was determined to overcome her doctors' grim prognoses of limited abilities and a short life expectancy, and that is exactly what she did. She mastered a motorized wheelchair, and after building a fully wheelchair-accessible home, became the terror of any pet with a tail. Next came a wheelchair van in which she not only zipped about Denver, but also ventured on long road trips to visit family in Wichita and friends in Wyoming. After her divorce from Jim, she steadfastly maintained the household and raised her two children, seeing them through college, and in Jay's case, law school. Her home became the central location for Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings of a clan spread from coast to coast and a welcome respite for her nephew, Matt, as he attended Colorado College.

Despite her broken body, Janet was a totally together person. Her caregivers over the years all became lifelong friends. She was a vital member of the close-knit cul-de-sac community on East Nichols Avenue in Centennial where she lived. She was a faithful and contributing member and volunteer at the Greenwood Community Church. To her children she was a fiercely devoted and loving mother. And upon the untimely loss of her mother, she became the saving grace of her father who came to live with her. Janet's spirit and her trust in God never faltered. She was a "giver" and an inspiration to all who knew her.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am, Friday, June 23, 2017 at Greenwood Community Church, 5600 E Belleview Ave, Greenwood Village, CO 80111. Private family inurnment at Olinger Chapel Hill Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made by check to Craig Hospital C/O the Janet Cranmer Memorial Fund, 3425 Clarkson St., Englewood, CO, 80121 or online at: https://craighospital.org/foundation/research#donateresearch. Please designate the funds to go to the Janet Cranmer Memorial Fund in the "This Gift is in Honor, Memory or Support" comment box.