JANET Emily KATO

Janet Emily Kato (nee Yeske) age 89. Beloved wife of the late William Kato, Sr. Loving mother of Janine Amoroso (Gregory), Stephen Kato (Colleen), William Kato, Jr (deceased) (Donna), Eric Kato (Deceased) and Victor Kato (deceased) (Irene). Cherished grandmother of 10 and great grandmother of 3. Dear sister of Grace Steffern (Ed, deceased). A Funeral Service will be held Thursday, July 21, 2022 at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1377 Lester Road, Valley City, Ohio at 11:30 AM. Visitation will be from 9:30 - 11:30 AM at St Paul's Lutheran Church. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Kemper House, 10890 Prospect Road, Strongsville, Ohio 44149.

Janet was born on June 29, 1933, in Cleveland to Ed and Meta Yeske.  Her older sister Grace was excited when Janet arrived.  Janet graduated from John Hay High School and held numerous jobs during her early years.  She met the love of her life William Kato and after a brief courtship were engaged.  William tried to impress her by saying he was a pilot (aka Captain Kato) and she found out the truth when she called the airport, and no record of Captain Kato could be found.  This was a funny story that was told during numerous family gatherings which her husband would deny.  They were married on July 16, 1955 and honeymooned in Niagara Falls.

During their first years in marriage they shared a duplex with William’s brother Alex and wife Helen in Cleveland.  Their first son William (aka Bill) was born on June 2, 1956.  They soon moved to Euclid and had their second son Eric on July 2, 1958.  They resided in a house near the lake and enjoyed the view on many evenings.  Their third son Victor arrived on February 6, 1960, and their only daughter Janine came along on July 28, 1961.  They moved to Priday Avenue in Euclid but only stayed a short while in that house (it wasn’t near the lake).  Not to be outdone a fourth son Stephen arrived on August 17, 1964.  They moved to their third house in Euclid on 191st street where they lived for over twenty years.  This house was close to the lake (which both Janet and William enjoyed) and had a private beach club.

Janet was extremely proud of her family and enjoyed being a Mom.  Everyone enjoyed mom’s cooking however baking was a challenge for Janet.  She was known for her lopsided cakes which after many years of chiding resulting in the kid’s birthday cakes being purchased from Hough Bakery (no one complained about though).  She was especially known for her stuffing for Thanksgiving dinner sometimes more stuffing was consumed than turkey.  Thanksgiving was Mom’s favorite holiday and the whole family would travel to Mom’s house to celebrate.  Her turkey soup on the other hand was, well, not a favorite.  In fact, one year when the children were doing the dishes the turkey carcass mysteriously  wound up in the trash before Mom could save it.  Based on this incident Mom stopped making turkey soup and vowed “When I’m gone you’ll be knocking on my tombstone asking for my turkey soup recipe”.  I guess we’ll see if anyone stops by looking for the recipe.

Janet had a deep faith and was a long time member of St John Lutheran – Nottingham Church in Cleveland near the old Euclid Beach Park.  She was a Sunday School Teacher and was involved in the Altar Guild which took care of the alter.  She always knew what color paraments should be on the altar which she took great pride in.  Janet had a wonderful singing voice and being near her in church you thought you were near an angel.  Most Lutherans sit in the rear pews, but not Janet.  Nope, we sat in the front pews but having five children in tow usually resulted in the family just arriving before the service started sometimes following the pastor processing up the middle aisle.  Needless to say the congregation knew the Kato family.  Janet made sure that her children attended Vacation Bible School at various Lutheran churches throughout the summer.

After all her children had grown and moved out of the house Bill and Janet decided it was time to move to the West side .. a thought that was forbidden in the earlier days (East side was always the best).  They moved to Strongsville in 1998 and bought a beautiful ranch house.  Strangely, it was larger than the house in Euclid where they raised five children.  Janet started attending St Mark Lutheran in Brunswick.  After a few years while they decided to move again to a house that did not need Bill to take care of the lawncare or outside maintenance.  They moved to another, still larger, house in Strongsville.  Janet stayed in that house until health issues forced her to move.

Janet was always active, but did she really have a choice with five children ?  One of her favorite exercises was walking the dog.  While in Euclid she would take the family dog Prince on her “death marches” which lasted several hours and resulted in the dog getting an ice cream cone at the end of the walk.  She would continue these long walks with her next dog Gus.  Gus was, well, different we’ll leave it at that.  She also did water aerobics and bocce ball when they lived in Strongsville (and she wasn’t even Italian).  She attempted golf but soon went back to bocce ball. 

Janet loved to read and passed that love onto her children.  One of her passions was history, especially Civil War History.  She could rattle off which battles were what and the generals involved.  One of her favorite movies was the epic Gettysburg which she saw several times in the theater and had a copy at home.  Gone with the Wind was a close second to Gettysburg.  Janet and her daughter Janine visited Gettysburg numerous times and she always found something new each time she visited.  Her favorite civil war personality was General Joshua Chamberlain who she researched tirelessly. 

Her second greatest joy was her grandchildren  … there are ten of them.  Each one felt like they were Grandma’s favorite.  Numerous voyages on the Goodtime II and then Goodtime III … did I say there were numerous voyages.  She also was ferociously proud of Cleveland and introduced her grandchildren to that pride on Lolly the Trolley.  She enjoyed watching the Indians and would delight in talking about them with her grandchildren.  She had grandchildren in Chicago, St Louis and Indianapolis where she made it a point to visit all of them on a regular basis.  Yes, she would spoil them with gifts and toys but probably the best way she spoiled them would be spending time with them, talking with them and paying attention to them.  Many, many good memories are held by each grandchild.

Now there are three great grandchildren and one more on the way.  More love and attention .. grandma never ran short on that.

Janet had numerous health issues later in life (sometimes life isn’t fair, but she was tough and fought it all the way).  It started with breast cancer which required chemo and radiation.. she lost her hair but not her sharp wit.  After beating cancer she broke her shoulder (probably due to the cancer treatments weakening her bones.. a story that will be repeated later).  After recovering from her shoulder she broke a hip which resulted in her using a walker.  She spent time in a rehab facility getting physical therapy so she could return home (she always wanted to get home).  A few years later she broke her other hip and during that recovery she fell and broke her arm.  Having both a broken hip and arm at the same time really impacted her recovery.. resulting in her not able to return home.  During this time she lived in numerous nursing homes and rehab facilities – always trying to get home.  Her last home was Kemper House in Strongsville where she lived for five years surrounded by a very caring and loving staff.

Janet knew tragedy in her lifetime.  She lost her son Victor in August 2011 unexpectedly – a loss that she never fully accepted.  Luckily, Victor’s widow Irene and children Christopher and Katelyn continued to show her love which kept her memories of Victor alive.  Her husband Bill passed away in 2016 leaving her feeling alone.  Eric, her fun loving son, passed away in December 2018 due to a heart attack.  During his last few years Eric and Janet became more friends than the traditional mother and son relationship.  His loss made her angry and sad.  Time did heal those wounds, but she would bring up Eric on a regular basis stating how much she missed him.  Eric’s son Tim would remind mom of him when he visited which brought her happiness.  The final tragedy was her son Bill, who lived in Chicago, passing away due to ALS in May 2021. Bill’s wife Donna and children Lauren, Michael and Bryan kept Bill’s memory alive for her.

Janet made it to her 89th birthday two weeks before she passed away.  Her story doesn’t end there the family she helped shape will continue in her memory.  As the Kato saying goes “Family is Everything” !

Our family would like to thank both the Kemper House of Strongsville and Hospice of Western Reserve.  Both of these institutions are amazing and have people who are truly caring.  Thanks again for all the love and support you showed to Janet and her family.  You are truly a blessing. In lieu of flowers, contributions are requested to the Kemper House.