Helen "Janet" Jerome

She was a breach-baby, born at Fullerton’s Cottage Hospital on February 7, 1937, to Bill & Nella Hall.

Janet was their only daughter, and she was ten years younger than her only sibling, big brother Richard, who was off to the service by the time Janet was 8 years old. She spent her entire childhood in a small house on West Wilshire Avenue, where she kept pet guinea pigs.

She attended Ford Elementary School and Wilshire Junior High before graduating from Fullerton Union High School with the class of 1955. She attended some classes at Fullerton Junior College before going to work in the clerical department at Standard Oil in La Habra.

She had many friends, and she and her single girlfriends had many fun times. One highlight was a cruise to Hawaii. On board the ship, she discovered that John Wayne & Lee Marvin were both passengers on their way to the islands to film the movie “Donovan’s Reef.” She was able to meet John Wayne at the captain’s cocktail party and get a photo with him.

Soon after returning from Hawaii, she became engaged to another lifelong Fullertonian, Don Jerome. Don & Janet were married at the First Baptist Church in Fullerton in 1963. They would remain lifelong members of the church.

In 1965, the Jeromes welcomed a son, David, and two years later a daughter, Cindy. Janet Jerome worked as wife & mother changing diapers, packing lunches, and offering coat wisdom. “It’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.”

Don & Janet worked hard, but also loved to have fun. While the kids were still at home, they enjoyed getaways to Palm Springs to see the Bob Hope Desert Classic Golf Tournament, and Las Vegas to see live entertainment, including Elvis. As the kids got older and more independent, those trips expanded to destinations around the country and around the world.

In the late 1970s, Don & Janet took up square dancing, joining the “Apollo Eights,” and then later the round dancing group, “Hacienda Rounders.” They danced with the groups two or three times a week and made many fun-loving friends. For the next two decades they danced, dined, traveled, and partied with their dancing friends.

When she and Don weren’t traveling, Janet was an avid daily walker in her Sunny Hills neighborhood. A petite woman just 100 pounds soaking wet, she walked so fast that no partner could keep up with her. Instead, she chose to walk alone while listening to the radio on her headphones.

She loved listening to talk radio. She listened to many different shows and commentators, but her favorite was Rush Limbaugh. Walking through the neighborhood, she met many other “Ditto Heads” who became friends. She was so committed to her 2-mile walk every day that inclement weather, falls, and dog bites didn’t deter her.

At night, she used to like to drive around the neighborhood before calling it a day. She had a set route that she drove through downtown’s business and residential neighborhoods and was so consistent that some neighbors would bet on what time she would pass by.

She enjoyed watching the Angels, USC football, and the Kentucky Derby on TV, usually while eating sweets and scrolling Facebook & Instagram. As she aged, she still wanted to know what everyone was up to.

Janet was a member of the local charity group, Damas De Caridad, and Fullerton’s Republican Women. She enjoyed going to the Nixon Library to hear nationally known conservative authors speak. She had a long list of notable people who she had met there.

During the last year of her life, she had several setbacks, but she always kept a positive attitude. As her appetite waned, one of the few food items that she would eat were huevos rancheros from El Farolito.

If there’s a world record for most huevos rancheros eaten by an octogenarian Caucasian woman in the last year of her life, Janet Jerome must be the record holder!

Helen “Janet” Hall Jerome died on May 3, 2024 in Fullerton. She leaves behind her husband of 61 years, 2 kids, and 5 grandchildren. Interment will be in the family plot at Loma Vista Memorial Park.

A visitation for Janet will be held Thursday, May 9, 2024 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM at McAulay & Wallace Mortuary, 902 N. Harbor Blvd., Fullerton, CA 92832. A funeral service will occur Thursday, May 9, 2024 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM, 902 N. Harbor Blvd., Fullerton, CA 92832. A graveside service will occur Thursday, May 9, 2024 from 2:30 PM to 2:45 PM at Loma Vista Memorial Park, 701 E Bastanchury Rd, Fullerton, CA 92835.