Janet Budnick Schwenke

Janet Schwenke, 82, died on Dec. 28, 2024 at the Virginia Hospital Center, Arlington Virginia. She was born Sept. 10, 1942 in Cleveland, OH to Leonard and Mildred (Sladewski) Budnick and grew up in Long Beach, CA. Janet had a strong faith in God and loved her family above all else. Janet was a planner and a doer with a strong sense of right and wrong.

Janet spoke French fluently and graduated with a Bachelor of Education from California State University at Long Beach, including a year at the Sorbonne in Paris. She began her teaching career in Long Beach and then working for the United States Department of Defense, with posts in Japan, The Azores, England and finally Germany, where she met Peter Schwenke, whom she married on August 8, 1972 at her parents’ home in Long Beach. After returning to Germany for a short period, the couple made their home in Virginia where they raised their family while Janet continued to teach in the Prince William County School system. After Peter’s retirement, the couple bought a horse farm in Culpeper, naming it Touch Point Farm.

Janet had a lifelong love for music, playing piano and guitar. She loved classical and folk music. For many years after her marriage Janet taught piano to children in her home. She served as choir director in her church for several years. Janet was a prodigious maker of music and many other things. She created beautiful cross stitch arts, was a quilter, a skilled sewer, she liked to crochet and also paint wood crafts. Given the choice between making something from scratch or buying something new, she always chose to create.

Upon retirement and the beginning of Touch Point Farm, Janet was at the helm of the business. She was a force of energy around the farm and getting things done. She organized, ran and announced horse shows, planned and helped run summer camps, and was just generally engaged with everything and everyone in the Touch Point Farm community. Although not having much experience on horseback, Janet always loved the animals and enjoyed being surrounded by them and taking care of them. She also had many beloved pet dogs, especially Toby, who was at her side constantly until he passed a year before her.

In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her sister Lynnette (Jim) Twiss. Surviving, in addition to her beloved husband of 52 years, are son Roger (Michelle) Schwenke of Alameda, CA; daughter Meredith (Darren) Jones of Culpeper; and grandchildren Rebecca and Zachary Jones and Madeline Schwenke.

A memorial service will be held at 7 PM Jan 3, 2025 at Clore English Funeral Home, Culpeper Virginia. Private Interment will be at Culpeper National Cemetery. Those who wish to remember Janet in a special way may make gifts in her memory to Heart of the Nation P.O. Box 14428, Milwaukee, WI 53214-9982.