Janet Lee Williams

On Monday September 19, 2022, a beautiful light dimmed as Janet Lee Williams ascended to her well-deserved place in heaven.

Her life began as Janet Lee Horsh in San Gabriel, California on October 28, 1933, born to parents Frank and Eva. She was extremely proud to call herself a Southern California native and spent her entire life there, but for a few years spent in Idaho.

She did not enjoy the time spent in Twin Falls, Idaho. It was “too cold”, and accordingly she suffered a lot of illness at a time before penicillin was created. Always the optimist, she said, it wasn’t all bad. Her sick time was spent developing a love of words and reading. As an adult, she never missed a daily New York Times crossword puzzle, which she completed in pen. She was seldom stumped.

She had a quick wit and inquisitive mind. She was intensely curious about people and the world. Her library was filled with books of facts, maps and encyclopedias. She could not learn enough, as was evidenced during her nightly ritual of blurting out answers to the players of the TV program, Jeopardy.

She attended Pasadena City College and went on to Bishop Johnson School of Nursing. The seed of her chosen vocation was planted deep in childhood, when as a girl, she witnessed a home birth at a neighboring farm. She knew from that moment on she would devote her life to birthing mothers. “Babies, not so much”. No, she just wanted to work with the Moms, and she proudly did just that for almost 50 years.

She spent a short time after graduating nursing school at Good Samaritan Hospital, the oldest hospital in Los Angeles, but when Methodist Hospital was built in Arcadia in 1957 she made her way there. She was the first employee of the hospital and worked as a nurse in the Labor and Delivery Department for the next 48 years, jokingly telling anyone she met that she had delivered most of the residents of Arcadia, California. Truthfully, she couldn’t go many places locally where she didn’t run into a Mom or a child that she’d interacted with at the hospital, many of whom became personal friends. Regretfully, Macular Degeneration stole her sight, and she never made it to her milestone of 50 years as an employee. She regretted it deeply.

In 1953 she married Eugene Edward Buchanan. The marriage ended in divorce, but not before they had given birth to a son. Brett Allen Buchanan was born June 11, 1958, at Methodist Hospital. He spent his early years at the hospital nursery where he would enjoy frequent visits from his adoring mother. Her love of him was abundant and obvious to anyone who knew them. Sadly, his life was cut short, barely out of high school, on April 1, 1977, by a drunk driver fleeing the police.

When Brett died, Janet’s world might have stopped spinning, but that is when she showed us how strong she really was, by going on in the belief she would see him again. While Brett was gone, miraculously, he left behind a little black Labrador puppy named Sadie Mae. She was the first of the legacy of Labradors that kept her connected to her son in heaven. After Sadie came Blixen, and Murphy, Julie and Lily. Last, but not least was Jilly, the constant companion with the biggest personality. Miss Jilly crossed the rainbow bridge the end of July. It is poetic that she was accompanied by Labradors all those years, right up until her own passing.

In 1966 she married Gayl Williams and welcomed his 4 children into her life. She raised the 5 children with great efficiency as her nurses training had prepared her, within the 1300 square foot home. With only one bathroom for seven people, she managed to keep everyone fed and clean, while working full time at the hospital. She truly was a miracle worker.

Occasionally, her and Gayl would take a vacation and enjoyed traveling, sometimes to Victorville and the Colorado River, other times beyond. Among their exotic destinations, they traveled to Tahiti and parts of Europe, their absolute favorite being Holland.

Janet was extremely proud of her Dutch heritage and found the people of Holland, warm and friendly. She always wanted to return but was, sadly, never able to make the trip.

She did, however, manage a trip to Paris in 2013 with her daughter. Paris, France had been a lifelong bucket list wish and she was extremely excited to have finally made it. While there, she visited the beaches of Normandy. As an American Patriot, this venture was very important to her, and she was grateful to have been there. Amazingly, she skipped the Eiffel Tower, due to a fear of heights. She did, however, enjoy French wine and Crème Brule!

As the years went by, she stuck closer to home. She could occasionally be coaxed to travel within California; Santa Barbara, Malibu, Newport, and Temecula were among her occasional destinations.

But home with her puppy is where she was most comfortable. The home she had built in 1957 is where she was happiest in her final years. Even though she was blind, she could tell you where every single thing was within the house, no matter what it was. She had memorized every single thing.

She had a love of doing laundry. Not so much ironing, but definitely laundry, priding herself on removing every stain and wrinkle from clothing. It was something about the water, she said.

When younger she had enjoyed doing some needlework and sewing, but otherwise did not have a lot of hobbies. She really just enjoyed learning and puzzles.

As she got older and her vision failed, she enjoyed going out to eat. Moffett’s, Panda Inn, Clearman’s North Woods Inn and Lawry’s of Beverly Hills were among her frequent favorites.

Finally, she enjoyed Turner Classic Movies. She loved the oldies and would watch them over and over often quoting lines, like “Here’s looking at you kid”, from Casablanca, one of her favorites.

She was warm, loving and accepting as a mother and a friend. She was intensely loyal to those she was close to, maintaining some friendships from Wilson Junior High for close to 80 years. She was forgiving, generous and hardworking.

As hard as it is to let her go, we know she was ready to be reunited with her son, Brett. The reunion took 45 years. They were long years for Janet, who faced them bravely, because Brett was always with her and in her thoughts. But finally, they are joined again, this time forever.

Preceded in death; Husband Gayl, parents, grandparents.

Survived by loving daughter Kerry Lynn (Tim) and granddaughter Annie, who shared her birthday, friends and relatives.

At last. At last. We Rejoice for her, At Last.