Janet Lea Cobb

Janet Lea Cobb was born in Beardstown, IL, on January 4, 1946. Her parents, Virginia and Lawrence Cobb, moved to Springfield when she was two, but she always maintained strong connections with Beardstown, where her beloved grandparents lived.

Growing up in Springfield, Jan attended various public and parochial schools, including two years at Springfield College in Illinois, where she studied music. In 1967, she moved to Chicago to attend the American Conservatory of Music and was awarded degrees in music education in 1969 and in piano performance in 1972. She worked various jobs in Chicago while pursuing her musical interests and education, residing all the time at the Three Arts Club, a magnificent residence for female singers, dancers, and musicians.

In 1973, Jan moved back to Springfield to help her ailing parents and took a job with the State of Illinois. She opened a music studio and began teaching private piano and voice students on a part time basis. She continued her career with the State until taking early retirement in 2004, whereupon she expanded her studio into a full-time venture. Over the years, she taught hundreds of children and adults; several of her students went on to become professional musicians. Covid necessitated closure of the studio in 2020.

In addition to teaching piano and voice, Jan conducted choirs, notably the alumni choir of Springfield College, later known as the Springfield Handel Society, which often performed the Christmas portion of Handel's Messiah during the Christmas season, and in 2015, the Easter portion. She also conducted the cantata Lamb of Light by composer Raymond Keldermans, one of her mentors at Springfield College. Jan was an enthusiastic participant in the local music scene, singing in the Springfield Symphony Chorus, Springfield Muni Opera, Springfield Choral Society, Prairieland Voices, Opera Theatre Springfield, and several church choirs. Jan was active in local musical clubs such as the Evening and Morning Etudes, and for years, judged students in annual piano competitions. During her teaching years, Jan continued to hone her musical skills by studying in Salzburg and Graz, Austria, and around the USA. She also studied orchestral conducting under Kenneth Kiesler.

In 1994, Jan married John Myers, whom she had met through Opera Theatre Springfield, thereupon becoming stepmother to John's three children. She was a major influence on the lives of her nieces and nephews, who conferred on her the nickname “Gaga.”

Jan loved to travel overseas to recharge her cultural batteries, having caught the travel bug on a class trip while at Springfield College. Jan and John agreed when they married to travel to Europe as often as time and finances permitted, and so they did.

Having enjoyed a fulfilling and interesting life, Jan succumbed to cancer and stroke, and after a long and arduous ordeal, died on March 21, 2025. She is survived by her husband, John Myers; three stepchildren, Elizabeth Myers Cooney, Barbara Myers, and Jonathan Myers; sisters, Victoria Nicholson and Geraldine Taylor; four grandchildren; five nieces and great-nieces; and two nephews and a great-nephew.

Jan was a gentle, kind, and accepting woman of faith with a special love for St. Anthony of Padua. But she was also strong and tough, never flinching or complaining through her prolonged and devastating illness.

She was loved and will be sorely missed by all who knew her.

Visitation: Family will receive friends from 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 30, 2025, at Butler Funeral Home- Springfield, 900 S. 6th St., Springfield. Visitation will begin with a prayer service at 2:00 p.m.

Mass of Christian Burial: 10:00 a.m. on Monday, March 31, 2025, at Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 524 E. Lawrence Ave., Springfield.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Preservation, Inc. (620 South Farmingdale Rd., New Berlin, IL 62670), a 501(c)(3) corporation that is renovating Ursula Hall on the grounds of the former Springfield College, where Jan commenced her advanced music studies. Jan loved that place!