Janet Elaine Fichter

Janet Elaine (Hooper) Fichter passed away and into the arms of her loving Lord on April 11, 2026. She was 65 years old. Janet was born November 9, 1960 to John Griffith Hooper and Margaret Chisolm (Johnson) Hooper, joining her three older siblings Lucy, Mark and Kathy. She grew up in Lakewood, CO and attended school in Jefferson County. In the early 1980s, she graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley.

Janet returned to college to get a teaching credential and she taught elementary school for many years. She also worked with youth at her church. Janet had a deep affection for both teachers and students, especially those who struggled. So, over the years, she added a Master’s degree in order to assist teachers with second language learners in the classroom. She later became an instructional coach helping teachers even more.

In the early 2000s, Janet met Elmar Fichter and they married in 2005. They settled in Lakewood, CO near the home where she grew up. They never had any children, but both Janet and Elmar loved dogs and added Benji to their family. In recent years, Cash the beagle came into their lives. Janet and Elmar also enjoyed many wonderful trips together over their 21 years of marriage.

When both of Janet’s parents developed long lasting illnesses, Janet spent much of her time caring for them. She was a devoted and faithful daughter.

Along with being the “favorite” sibling, she was also a favorite and devoted aunt, affectionately called “Aunt Pookie” by all of her nieces and nephews.

Most of all, Janet loved Jesus and wanted others to know the joy and peace that came from a deep and lasting relationship with Him. She was a prolific writer – sharing her poems, stories and insights in blogs and emails along with publishing 4 books. She served in many other ways as well, such as volunteering at her church’s “Table” ministry for feeding and offering Bible studies to those facing homelessness and other needs.

Janet was preceded in death by her parents, John and Margaret Hooper and her mother-in-law, Irmi Fichter.

Janet is survived by her loving husband, Elmar Fichter, her father-in-law Elmer Fichter, her siblings: Lucy (Earl) Floyd, Mark (Carol) Hooper and Kathy (Mark) Robinson. Her nieces and nephews include: Scott Floyd, Desiree Floyd, Joshua Floyd, Brittani (Kegan) Boner, Lauren O’Brien, Tiara Hooper, Gracie (Jonah) Vigilia, and BK Robinson. She also had two great nieces Blakely and Berkley Boner. Two weeks after Janet’s passing, Charlotte Elaine Vigilia was born honoring her Great Aunt Pookie by sharing her middle name.

Janet impacted all who crossed her path, always showing them grace, love and encouraging words. She leaves a giant hole, this side of heaven, and will be missed greatly by so many.

I’ve lived an amazing life ~ Self-written eulogy by Janet E. Fichter

With my first step in heaven, I will forget all about the joys and challenges of life in the natural realm. All that will matter will be the humbling joy and powerful presence of God’s glory. The light and life of Christ will surely wipe away every tear and regret.

I wonder, though, if the joys of earthly life might somehow be kept in a bottle for me somewhere? Perhaps I’ll want to think back on this amazing life I’ve had every now and then. For God has blessed me with an untold number of blessings.

Here are a few just of His blessings which in my mind might be stored in that bottle (I’ve left out far too many, I know, and I apologize for that:

God blessed me with John and Margaret Hooper as parents. Devoted, hard-working, loving and faithful. Mom gifted me with her love of language and of writing; and mostly her strong faith in Jesus. Dad schooled me in living a responsible and compassionate life of service. He also gifted me with a love for singing.

My siblings have been lifelong best friends, and not many people can say that. We’ve had so much fun, silliness, and amazing conversations as we share the love of Jesus with each other and those around us. Oh, the joy of walking a life of faith with the most amazing siblings ever. And those amazing people (and their spouses, of course) have blessed me with the most amazing nieces and nephews, whose gifts, and intelligence I will all cherish all the days of eternity.

And then, there’s Elmar. The love of my life. Elmar and I clicked since Day One, sharing the joys of travel, enjoying our fur-babies, loving each others’ families, maintaining a home, being good neighbors, and walking hand in hand through all the joys and sorrows of life. (And, by the way, I am sorry for being kinda bossy at times.) Thank you, Elmar, for holding me through life and this horrible illness. God broke the mold when he created Elmar; and I was the honored one to share life with him. You have always been “my steady man” – so very encouraging; so very giving, so very courageous. Oh, the places we’ve been and the adventures we’ve shared. My greatest delight in life has been you, dear man. If all of you would please plan a trip with Elmar, you will have the best time of your life. AND HE WILL GET TO TRAVEL, which is one of his greatest loves. I recommend Germany or Hawaii.

Despite being an introvert, I’ve had the most amazing friends. People who have spoken into my life and shared the most tender parts of their life with me. I’m grateful for them all. I’d love to list all your names, but that would risk forgetting some, for there are so many of you. If you are here today, please know how dearly I cherished our friendship. You are all my heroes. I cherish and admired you deeply.

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Who can say they’ve travelled to 6 islands of Hawaii to see the most gorgeous places of God’s creation? Can you guys imagine me riding down a 1600 foot steep and narrow path on a mule with spots (who they named “Stripe”) just to see the amazing Hawaiian peninsula named Kalaupapa in order to tour Father Damien’s mission working to heal and bless the lepers on the leper Colony? Wow!

Who can say they’ve travelled to many parts of Europe to see castles and fortresses and amazing historical landmarks, eating delicacies of local cuisine?

Who can say they’ve had their life transformed by participating in three home-building Habitat for Humanity, International trips (Mexico, Nicaragua and Guatemala)? Seeing the hard-working people of those lands surely puts any difficulty of life in America into perspective.

Who can say they’ve had fun, hilarious and meaningful memories with an amazing youth group called NO LIMITS….KIDS who KNOW AND TREASURE the limitless nature of loving Jesus? When I read the memory of our youth group leader running throughout the grounds of Camp Wondervu with her underwear over her head, I get the giggles all over again and that was over 20 years ago.

Who can say they got to teach the most hilarious, curious, inquisitive, and creative students for over a decade? In doing so, I worked alongside some pretty amazing and heroic teachers with a passion to love children inside and out.

Who can say they got to sing their heart out in high school with such fun and talented students in both Concert Choir and Celebrate High Show school. Oh how we bonded in song and dance. Oh how our friendships cemented for life. These memories, and so many more will be packed tightly in my bottle of memories.

Most recently, the memory of serving and ministering to those in need through Bethlehem Lutheran’s weekly worship service and dinner meal for the homeless and neighborhood’s working poor has been so tender, so challenging, meeting some very ongoing needs of many. It is a sweet community filled with people who know how to “love on” each other so well. If you want to witness love in action, come help these hard-working servants out. Dedicated beyond belief, I have witnessed Holy Spirit’s gift of service in a mighty consistency, and that is not easy.

And, my Writer’s on the Rock group has filled my bucket over and other. As a shameless plug, please recommend four my books. I hope they will be on display here today. They are MY babies, and the message needs to get out to those who will benefit.

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There’s so many more, but I must stop. Because most importantly for all of you is not knowing the memories of this life that I have cherished. It is about the message of God’s goodness and glory….for though I take the bottle of these wonderful memories with me to peek inside every now and then, I will now get to be in the presence of Jesus in a far more glorious manner. Daily Jesus and I will pray together over all of you; and constantly we will pray that those who might be hesitant to fully relinquish every part of their early journey into Christ’s hands will know the freedom of walking hand in hand with Jesus. One of my many favorite Bible verses is 2 Corinthians 3:17: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”. Humans are body, soul and spirit. Too many folks don’t allow themselves to bathe in the spiritual part of their make-up. AND YOU’RE MISSING OUT PEOPLE! If you want freedom from anxiety, guilt and shame, regret, care and fear, YOU’VE Got it with Jesus, PEOPLE! Many of us allow our thoughts to get stuck in analyzing and trying to figure out how natural systems work (Hey, I know some brilliant, rocket scientists folks and they can explain a heck of a lot).

We even try really hard to define and understand God, which might just drive you crazy, since He inhabits that gap of time and space we cannot understand. It’s impossible to reach that yearned for hope that we would ever be able to fully understand Him…but guess what? Our Lord created all that we need to be free from, and God is a God who loves to REVEAL insight, wisdom and counsel to us all the time. Who would not wish for that?

Lay your pride and confusions down, and just ask Jesus to bring His amazing gifts of the power of revelation to you. There’s a ton of folks in this room today who can share more about how to RECEIVE from God. That’s what it is all about. And that can be how you live the rest of your life: RECEIVING FROM JESUS. It’s never too late. That is my dying prayer for you…MAKE THAT DECISION THAT YOU WANT TO RECEVIVE ALL THAT JESUS HAS. It’s amazingly wonderful.

And dear ones, I cherish you to the depths of my eternal being. Eternity is forever. I love you all and carry your names in both my natural, limited bottle of sweet memories of all that is unlimited by God mighty presence and power.