Janet Loree Hanna

Janet was born on a Sunday, May 8th, 1938 in the small farming town of Clare, Michigan to parents Loran Wesley and Jennetta Elizabeth Nevill. She passed away on June 3, 2022 in Sun City, Arizona surrounded by family. Janet was born on Mother’s Day and recently celebrated her 84th birthday which coincided with Mother’s Day, as if her life went full circle. She was delivered at the farmhouse and it wasn’t an easy delivery as the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck causing her to turn blue. Lucky for us, she survived showing her true fighting spirit that continued throughout her life. Janet was the eldest of six children born in the Nevill family that included Neil, Jerry, Louise, Richard and Bernie. As the oldest child, Janet learned to “drive” around the age of eight to help her dad with chores on the farm. Janet recalled that while she couldn’t quite reach the pedals, she was able to keep the tractor going in a” fairly straight line”. She was also responsible for helping with the milking of the dairy cows on her parent’s farm as well as other farm chores and helping out with her younger siblings. While growing up on the farm, the family went from using an outhouse to indoor plumbing.

Janet attended the Dover one room school about a mile from the family farm until high school. Janet participated in school activities and told the story of standing on the running boards of a teacher’s car to travel to a softball game in a neighboring town. Her dad helped to build indoor restrooms at the schoolhouse. Her dad was the Superintendent of the school and made sure that a fire was going each day to keep the kids warm. As with most one room schools, Janet ended up skipping a grade after finding out that she was doing the schoolwork of the next grade that year because of the class size. Janet attended Clare High School in town and participated and lettered in band with the trumpet. She graduated from high school in 1955. After graduation, she stayed home a year to help-out with the family.

Janet attended the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois during the fall of 1956 until the spring of 1957 focusing on Christian Education and Music. Then, she transferred to Grand Rapids Baptist Theological Seminary and Bible Institute (now called Cornerstone University). She attended class from 1957 until 1960. At the time she graduated, the institute was not accredited; hence, Janet received a diploma in Christian Education.

After graduation, Janet obtained a job as a secretary at the Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan. She worked for approximately twelve men in the development and testing of new products. Within a year’s time, Janet was promoted to Administrative Office Secretary. Janet was offered the opportunity of setting up a satellite office in Denver, Colorado as part of the Kansas City Sales Office. She went home and told her family that she would be leaving in two weeks-time. After attending training in Kansas City, Janet made the move out to Denver. One day, Janet was approached by one of the scientists, who asked if she could produce an outfit constructed of a new stain-resistant pink fabric they had created. Janet took the fabric home and fashioned a dress that she wore back into the office, which proved the material was workable. She lived in a small apartment in downtown Denver at 1368 N Elizabeth, where she shared a bathroom with the homeowners. In the summer of 1966, Louise (Janet’s sister) came to visit. One night while having a barbeque on the back patio, a neighbor roared by in their vehicle in the alley way. Louise exclaimed he was going as fast as a “turd of hurdles” instead of a herd of turtles; needless to say, both sisters could not stop laughing. Lots of laughter and memories were made during that visit.

Janet enrolled in the University of Colorado in Denver to pursue a B.S. in Education. She was taking a biology class when she met her husband Philip Hanna in September 1966. They were engaged by Christmas and married on June 17, 1967. They lived in an apartment before purchasing a house in Arvada. Due to a cement strike, they were not able to move into the house until October 1968. Janet and Phil welcomed identical twin daughters to the family in October 1970.

In 1977, the family moved to Phoenix, Arizona to be closer to Phil’s parents. Janet re-entered the work force in 1979 as the Secretary at Deer Valley Baptist Church. This allowed Janet to be accessible to the twins as their grade school was directly across the street from the church. She continued to work at the church for the next 10 years. She oversaw a multitude of items and assisted the pastor with his doctoral degree. Janet and Phil were active members of Deer Valley Baptist Church, which was a few blocks away from their house. Janet also assisted Phil with the Awana program at the church for the young kids including her daughters.

In 1989, Janet transitioned to the State of Arizona, Department of Economic Security. She worked at various State agencies throughout her career. As she advanced, she was quick to teach herself the new skills necessary for her job duties. She retired as a Program and Projects Specialist with the Department of Health Services in 2004.

In 1999, Janet and Phil moved to Sun City to be closer to Phil’s parents. This allowed them to watch over and assist Phil’s parents as they aged. Janet and Phil joined Bellevue Heights Church shortly after moving to Sun City. One of Janet’s passions was being an avid reader – as evidenced by owning 5 different Kindles. Often times, her daughters would find her in her recliner reading a book while listening to another book at the same time. Talk about the ultimate multi-tasker! Janet kept track of all the various authors and series that she read with various spreadsheets. She also enjoyed lighthouses – particularly ones in her home state of Michigan.

Janet will be deeply missed by her family and friends, but above all, she would want everyone to celebrate and enjoy life to the fullest. She will always be the “gentle spirit” to her family – while she may not have easily expressed her feelings, they were always there right below the surface. This was evident in her tears as family left from a visit or her daughters returned to college in Tucson after a weekend visit. Her smile, laughter, and wit will be missed by everyone. Peace, love and rest well Janet for a beautiful life lived on this earth!