Jan Mickler

Born in Alexandria, LA, Jan was raised in Kissimmee, Florida where her family owned M.P. Mickler and Sons lumber mill. She attended Georgia State College for Women and Florida State University, majoring in Music Therapy, where she met her husband, Peter Temko. They were married in 1964 in Gainesville, Florida. She was Director of Music Therapy at the New Jersey Neuropsychiatric Institute in Skillman, NJ from 1964 until the family moved to Tallahassee, Florida in 1968.

From 1974 to 1999 the family lived on Lookout Mountain, GA where she earned a master’s degree in Special Education from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. During that time, Jan was the principal of Fairyland Elementary School on Lookout Mountain, was Director of Teaching and Learning for Chattanooga, TN. public schools, and earned her Ph.D. in reading education from Florida State University.

In 1999 the family moved to Belleair Beach, Florida where Jan became the Supervisor of Secondary Reading and Language Arts for the Pinellas County, FL public schools. She then became Executive Director of Strategic Literacy Consulting and Associate Director for the National Literacy Project. Though she retired in 2012, she remained active in teaching and consulting and continued to mentor the next generation of teachers.

Jan was an expert educator and champion of teachers and students. She believed fiercely that every child can learn and always found a way to instill that faith into the children she taught, the teachers she mentored, and the school systems in which she served as a literacy consultant. She published numerous articles and books on the topic and was known widely for her expertise in, and her love for, teaching children.

She was also a talented pianist, performing solo and chamber music throughout her life. She loved music in all forms and studied, listened to, and played music continuously. She was able to communicate the essence of any piece of music she played and was most contented and peaceful when listening to her favorite music, reading or needlepointing, with a fire in the fireplace.

She loved being with her family, especially cooking and playing games. She was a wonderful cook and nurtured the family’s curiosity about new foods and the joy of cooking together. She was also legendary for her expertise in card games though was always suspected of using the “special skills” her grandmothers taught her as a child, earning her the nickname of “cheater mama” by her sons.

The power of Jan’s personality lay in her ability to make everyone she met, however briefly, feel seen, heard, and loved. She exuded warmth and kindness every moment of her life. Her shining presence affected everyone she knew deeply.

Jan is survived by her husband, Peter Temko of Atlanta, Georgia, her children Leonard and wife Janice Barnes of New York, Benjamin and wife Wanda Yang Temko, her grandchildren Daisy and Alexandra of Atlanta, Georgia, her sisters Karen Mickler of Robbinsville, NC and Lindsay Mickler of Lutz, Florida, and a much loved extended family in Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia and California.

She was preceded in death by her mother Daisy Stubbs Dickerson, her brother Brian Mickler, and her father John Ellis Mickler.

The family extends sincere thanks to the caring and expert staff of Weinstein Hospice and the physicians and staff of the Piedmont Cancer Institute in Atlanta, Georgia.

Donations in her name will be appreciated and can be made to Southern Poverty Law Center or The American Cancer Society.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hmpattersonOglethorpe.com for the Mickler family.