Janet J Fair

Janet Joy Nichols Fair was born in Belle Plaine, Iowa on June 5, 1939. She was the daughter of Emerson and Mary Nichols and had an older sister, Marylin. When the girls were young, the family made their way to Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Janet was a skilled artist and loved her high school art classes. In her Senior year, she entered the Iowa State Teachers College Art Contest, winning one of 15 awards out of over 800 students. As an adult, she continued to explore her love of art, taking numerous drawing and painting classes.

Later, she met John Fair, who was the brother of Jane, her coworker at McClellan's Dime Store. They married in 1959 and about a year later moved to Grand Prairie, Texas. They lived in a couple different apartments before finding the house of their dreams in August, 1963, where Janet remained for the next 60 years.

She had many memories in that house. She and John adopted their daughter Sharon, who was due to be born in February but decided that early January sounded like a better option. They didn't have anything prepared so her employer (Cabell's Dairies) threw a baby shower together to get them started.

Janet and John divorced in 1974 and she raised Sharon as a single parent. She did an awesome job! She maintained a stable and drama-free home. She made sure there was always food on the table and clothes on their backs. Janet was a fiscally cautious person with the mindset of "if you don't have the money to pay for something, then you need to wait until you do. Credit cards can get you into trouble".

Janet loved to travel and carefully budgeted for a vacation each summer. Whether it was just a road trip to Galveston or a drive to Cedar Rapids, she made sure she and Sharon could get away and explore a little part of the world every year.