Janice Carol Petty

July 15, 1937 – January 17, 2019

Janice (Jan) Petty of Airmont, New York, died peacefully in her sleep on Thursday, January 17, 2019.

She was born in Iselin, New Jersey, on July 15, 1937 to Joseph and Julia (Christon) Leonard, and raised in Hempstead, Long Island. Following her graduation from the State University College for Teachers at Buffalo, she was working as an elementary school teacher and speech therapist when she married William (Bill) Petty in 1962. Jan and Bill had been married for 55 years when he predeceased her in 2017.

Jan was a creative and loving stay-at-home mother who nurtured in her daughter a shared love of reading, museums, art and crafts, finding lucky pennies, and shopping off the sale racks. She had a long history of volunteer service and was a devoted member and former president of the Junior (fundraising) Guild of Good Samaritan Hospital. She belonged to the Woman’s Club of Suffern and her neighborhood card club—a regular gathering that was more about friendship than cards.

Having taken a birdwatching class in college, Jan took great joy in identifying the birds who frequented her back yard. She excelled at sewing, crafting and, in her youth, bowling. Jan enjoyed taking day trips with her husband Bill, exploring historical sites and diners throughout the New York tri-state area.

Janice Petty is survived by her daughter Alice Petty and her husband, Jason Hogg of San Francisco, CA; her beloved sister Ursula Pledger and her husband Fred; her nieces and their spouses Juliann and Paul Maurath, Melissa Pledger and James Radke, and their children, Christopher Maurath, Adam Maurath, and Victoria Radke; her sister-in-law Maryanne Shiderly and her daughters, Heidi Shiderly and Heather DeLong.

Visitation will be held at Wanamaker and Carlough Funeral Home, 177 Route 59, Suffern, New York 10901 on Friday, January 25 from 3:00-5:00 P.M. Services will be held at Wanamaker and Carlough on Saturday, January 26 at 10:00 A.M. with internment to follow at Maryrest Cemetery in Mahwah, New Jersey.