Janet H. Jelenski

Janet Jelenski was born in Irvington, New Jersey on April 3, 1944 to Ann and Vincent Jeleniewski. Janet never knew her father since he was missing in action in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations during World War II. Raised by her single mother, Ann, Janet grew to be fiercely independent and loyal.

While Janet initially wanted to be a doctor or airplane pilot, she became an educator, proud of her Master of Arts degree from Jersey City State College. As an elementary school teacher at the Spring Garden School in Nutley, Janet touched hundreds of lives - both those of her students and of her colleagues.

One of her favorite memories from childhood was walking to Kindergarten with her friends. Janet’s friendships tend to be long lasting - the Hot Nine - a group of friends from Kindergarten and junior high school still keep in regular touch.

As she made her way through life, everyone Janet met was a potential friend - the clerk in ShopRite, the EMT in the ambulance, the server in the restaurant. Janet also had her pool friends and her card playing friends, along with the folks in Mesa, Arizona where she liked to go in Winter.

While her immediate family was small, Janet was also adopted by and, in turn, adopted the Bruggemann family, as she alternated holidays, attended weddings and participated in other life events with the Bruggemann’s and her family.

There were a lot of people in Janet’s life, and the common thread is how much they loved her and how everyone thinks she was a nice and thoughtful lady. Janet lived her life her way, without regrets, and leaves behind a legacy of love, caring and peace.

Donations in Janet’s name can be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.

A Funeral Mass to celebrate Janet’s life will be held October 29 at 10:00 AM at Our Lady Of Victories Church in Harrington Park, New Jersey.