Janet Marie Barker, 65, passed away on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 in East Lansing, Michigan. Born November 21, 1954 in Red Wing, Minnesota to James and Barbara (Rawson) Kosec, Janet and her family moved to Iowa and then Colorado where she met her husband, Gary Ray Barker. Together, they moved to Michigan and raised their children in the Lansing area.
Janet worked as a customer service representative until moving into a career that allowed her to focus on her passion: helping children with special needs. She worked in the Lansing school district as both a lunch aide and a substitute aide for children with special needs until her MS diagnosis made it too difficult to continue serving.
Outside of work, Janet loved taking road trips – mostly to visit family – and her soaps. She never missed an episode of the Young and the Restless or the Bold and the Beautiful, even if it meant recording them on old VHS tape.
She was preceded in death by her husband Gary in 2018; and her parents.
Janet will be lovingly remembered by her children, Jasmine and Daniel Barker; her grandson, Jacob Badour; her siblings, Nancy (Howard) Evans, Laurie (John) Cowell, Lynn (Dave) Lavender, Mike (Judy) Kosec, and Susie Kosec; and many nieces and nephews.
Memorial services will be held at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Janet’s honor to the Tri County Office on Aging.
