Janine Anthony Custer

It is the late 1950s in Cleveland, Ohio. 24-year-old Janine Anthony is home from work, sick in bed, listening to the radio. An ad comes on saying government jobs overseas are available for those who can pass a series of testing requirements. Young Janine passes testing and immediately leaves home, heading to Washington, DC for training. She then finds herself on a plane to Tehran, Iran to decrypt and encrypt code for the United States State Department. In Tehran, she meets Donald Custer, who is working for the Central Intelligence Agency. Within months they are married and are both re-assigned to Ankara, Turkey. In the next two years they operated in US Intelligence communities during Cold War crises years that included the capture of US U2 spy-plane pilot Francis Gary Powers and the escalation of the Cuban Missile Crisis. In Ankara, their first child, Dorine was born.

In 1960, they returned to the United States where their second daughter Susan and only son, John were born. They settled in Cary, North Carolina in 1965. There, Janine became active in the church community, serving as the secretary of St. Michael the Archangel Roman Catholic Church, co-editing the Church newspaper and assisting a series of church leaders through the seventies and eighties. Later she worked for The Cary News newspaper. She enjoyed gaming in Cherokee, NC, fencing, archery, roller-skating and bowling with her long-time team “The Jades”. She supported a myriad of charities and remained deeply devoted to her faith and family. Her children thrived under her unerring support and she was well-regarded in the community, affectionately known by many, simply as “Mrs. C”.

She is preceded in death by her husband Donald Lee Custer (2003). She is survived by her daughter Dorine Yelton and grandsons Matthew Yelton and Tyler Yelton, daughter Susan Martin, son-in-law Bill Martin, grandson Liam Martin and granddaughter Logan Lee Martin, and son John Custer.

A Funeral Mass will be held on Monday, May 20, 2024 at 1:00 pm at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Cary. Inurnment will follow at the church columbarium.

Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of your choice. Two of Janine's favorite charities were Wounded Warrior Project and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

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