Janet Louise Sumner Flewelling

Janet Louise Sumner Flewelling was born October 7, 1953 in Indianapolis, IN. She was the 5th daughter born to Max and Anita Sumner of IN, now deceased. The story goes that the other 4 sisters decided to name her Janet, and so it was! Loved and adored as the baby of the family.

She attended the University of Evansville in Evansville, IN, then moved to Houston, TX for a new adventure. There she met and married the love of her life, Steve Flewelling. They were joyously married for 43 years. She was the loving mother to Steve’s two children, Doug and Kelly. Together they have enjoyed spending time with the children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren! Janet had a calendar with every family members birthdays, anniversaries and other special events. When they couldn’t be there, she always sent a special box of surprises and baked goodies. She loved putting these care packages together for each special one! Janet was always the host locally for family gatherings, and even toted her cookware and recipes with her when traveling to WA and Idaho to see the Flew Crew as she called them, so that she could cook for them, too, a thousand miles from her home base in TX.

Janet loved being with family most of all, but when she wasn’t hosting a dinner or party for family and friends, she was involved with many charitable activities after retirement from Insperity. She also had long careers with Friedkin Toyota and BFI where Janet and Steve met.

After retirement she wanted to use her skills, and she found a volunteer opportunity helping with plans to build a new women’s shelter & facility called Family Time. Steve and Janet volunteered together to deliver Meals on Wheels for a community, sponsored by HAAM (Humble Area Assistance Ministries). Janet was co-leader of a philanthropic project called Kingwood Bag Ladies with her sister Barbara, and they crocheted sleeping mats for the homeless using recycled grocery store plastic bags. Janet never crocheted a blanket or neck scarf, but she learned specifically to crochet so she could make these sleeping mats! And the club made a ton of them, and worked with HAAM for distribution of the mats. Her most recent endeavor was to help with an adolescent foster boys home called J’s House in Humble, TX. It is still not ready to open, but she was planning to be a part of it soon.

Her hobbies were expansive; she liked to cook, read, travel, play cards and table games, work puzzles, paint canvases, and most recently yard-art panels. She had a small book club with a few lady friends, too. Janet did not like to sit idly, that is for sure! She and Steve always had a family dog that they doted on, and sweet Mazi, the mini-Aussie, was her little sidekick. She and Steve enjoyed taking Mazi for numerous walks everyday, and even took her on the road with them when traveling cross country!

Janet was loved and respected by all who met her or crossed her path, no matter their social status in life. She even mentioned how much she enjoyed getting to know the medical staff during her stay, and commented on what a challenging job they had and how much she appreciated them. She liked meeting people and always had a smile on her face, no matter what was happening around her. Janet spent good quality time with all of her nieces and nephews from her sister’s families along with the Flew Crew. She was a good role model and a very special aunt and great aunt. She was everyone’s Special Aunt, and she was adored by all of them.

Janet is just as near perfect as you can get as a wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, sister, friend...and we don’t think we are being biased either!

Janet’s surviving family includes her husband, Steve Flewelling, and their beloved dog, Mazi, son Doug Flewelling (Heather), and his children, Nevan, Jayland, Sophia, Amaria, and Max and grandchildren, Avayah, and Kallen. Also, surviving her is daughter, Kelly Flewelling-Autrey (Dean), and her children, Savannah, Tristan, and Marcus, and grandchildren, Axton, Xavier and Montana Jaymes.

Surviving sisters are Suzanne Guntharp (Walt), Barbara Ahlstrom, and Virginia Elias. She is predeceased by sister Patty Monka (Tom). Numerous surviving nieces and nephews, including Sharon Guntharp Beemer, VW Monka, Austin Monka, Heather Ferguson, Andy Morales, Julie Becker, Marie Powell, and adored great-grandniece, Lily Ferguson. Janet also leaves behind a loved sister in-law, Terry Flewelling Anderson (Jim) and nephew, Ryan Anderson, and her dear brother-in-law, Scott Flewelling (Jane), and nieces and nephews, Kristofer, Kreighton, and Samantha.

The family requests in lieu of flowers, gifts, and food offerings, please donate to HAAM (Humble Area Assistance Ministries. Thank you for your consideration and love for Janet.

A celebration of life - memorial service for Janet will be held Saturday, April 12, 2025 at 2:00 PM at Kingwood Funeral Home, 22800 Highway 59 N, Kingwood, Texas 77339.