Janet Cauley Stephenson was born in Rushville, Indiana, on April 14, 1918 and died in her Kansas City home amongst family and friends on June 9, 2017. The youngest daughter of Thomas Sylvester Cauley and Mary Ann Kelly Cauley, she moved with her family to 33rd Street and Redemptorist Parish in Kansas City when she was a young girl. With six brothers and sisters, her house was a happy one full of celebration. She would go on to preside over one just as close and vibrant. Being Irish Catholic gave Janet a strong sense of community. She grew up with many friends who all started Kindergarten together, celebrated their First Communion and Confirmation together, married and had children about the same time—all with a deep connection to the church. One of those kids she grew up with was Tom Stephenson, who became her husband when she was 20 years old. They had known each other their whole lives. When asked how they met, he would always say, “Janet is like Jesus. She just always was!”
Janet had a close connection to Rockhurst High School. She started going to games with her dad on the trolley when she was seven years old. A diehard sports fan, she attended Rockhurst games for 80 years and was the first woman to be inducted into the Rockhurst High School Sports Hall of Fame. She watched Rockhurst win many state championships, some of them with her son and grandsons playing, and she was there when they won in 2010. Janet felt lucky to have lived in the same house for nearly 70 years. She and Tom bought it when they were a young married couple. It had been his family home, and was where they raised their children—Judie, Sue, Tom, Sallie and Jan. For Janet’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren, “6400” was a special place where Vienna Fingers cookies, Coca-Cola and chocolate ice cream were always in supply. A Coke was a breakfast tradition that began when she was seven years old at Browne’s Irish Marketplace.
Janet started playing golf when she was 65 and played for nearly 30 years at Blue Hills Country Club. She was going to quit when she was 92, but then she got a birdie one day playing with her daughters, so she came back for more. She didn’t start using a cart until her 90s. St. Patrick’s Day was another thing that kept Janet young. She never missed the downtown or Brookside parades—including this year. She sent literally hundreds of St. Patrick’s Day cards each year to friends and family near and far. “Gram” was happy and spirited while singing songs with the many friends and family who helped her celebrate her 99th birthday at her home in April. A longtime member of St. Peter’s Parish and the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, she believed that faith and family got her through all of life’s rough spots. “Knowing that God is in my life is the best gift I’ve been given,” she once said. “Family is all-important to me. Having a close relationship with each of my children and knowing that they all turned out all right and have good lives is the best accomplishment possible. We all love to tell our family stories to make each other laugh. We laugh a lot. We love each other. What else could you possibly want in life?”
Janet is survived by her children Judie Stephenson Scanlon, Sue Stephenson Rhodes, and Jan Stephenson of Kansas City, Tom and Sally Stephenson of Dallas, and Harry and Sallie Lowery of Tulsa; grandchildren Molly Scanlon Beebe, Amy Scanlon Taitt, Tom and Diane Scanlon, Stephen Scanlon, Mitch and Katie Williams, Kerry and Teri Scanlon, Martin and Bridget Rhodes, Tyler and Anne Wright, and Tom and Caitlin Stephenson Porto of Kansas City; Charlie “Brick” and Courtney Rhodes of Raleigh, North Carolina; Cauley and John Shaffert of Omaha, Nebraska; Kelly Stephenson of Washington, D.C.; Jack Stephenson and Chris and Megan Reilly of Dallas; Matt and Jennie Marchal and Adam and Sarah Nuse of Nashville, Tennessee; 38 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.
A wake will be held at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, 701 E. Meyer Boulevard, at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, June 14, 2017, followed by a mass at 3:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Peter’s Catholic Church and the Janet Cauley Stephenson Memorial Scholarship at Rockhurst High School.
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