Janine Marguerite Meadows

Janine Marguerite Gontard Meadows, 91, died Thursday, January 21, 2016 at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She was born September 29, 1924, in Bourg-en-Bresse, France, to Suzanne (Tauty) and Adolphe Gontard.

She is survived by her husband of 64 years, Joseph Marion Meadows M.D.; daughter Suzanne Elizabeth Meadows Murphy of Ann Arbor, Michigan; son Marc Alain Meadows and Amy (Frenkil) of Washington, D.C. and Palm Beach, Florida; daughter Michele Annette Meadows of Cranston, Rhode Island; daughter Nicole France Meadows D.D.S. and son-in-law Richard Pfaff of Bloomfield Township, Michigan; and four grandchildren, Alexandra Josephine Meadows, Patrick Joseph Murphy, Gillian Quinn Pfaff, and Henri Franklin Pfaff.

Mrs. Meadows was raised in Lyon, France, but during the WWII occupation, her family moved to the southwest city of Rodez. She later attended l’École Hôtelière et de Tourisme in Nice where a contact from the U.S. Consulate gave her a can of Spam—the first meat she’d had in years. She left France in 1947 to live with a family acquaintance in Shreveport, Louisiana, and soon after attended Texas State College for Women in Denton, Texas. Later, she met her future husband in Memphis, Tennessee, while on school break with her roommate. During her immigration naturalization process, Mrs. Meadows lived in Mexico City, Mexico, before returning to the U.S. She then lived briefly in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she taught French before returning to Memphis to wed Dr. Meadows on October 5, 1951. The couple and their first child moved to the Panama Canal Zone in 1953 where Dr. Meadows served as an intern at the hospital. In 1955 they moved to Saginaw, Michigan, and then to Ann Arbor in 1958. There, she was a member the International Neighbors and Alliance Française of Ann Arbor.

Mrs. Meadows received her M.A. in French Literature from the University of Michigan in 1962 and soon retired from teaching to raise her family and travel back to France frequently with them. Despite her expertise in romance languages and speaking fluent French, Spanish, and some Italian, she never lost her original accent and often convoluted her English—the butt of many a family joke.

She was especially well known in Ann Arbor for her French charm and culinary talents, and was a very early proponent of the farm-to-table movement, providing seeds from France to vendors at the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market so she could obtain then-rare vegetables such as leeks, butter lettuce, and French radishes. Being resourceful at a time when Ann Arbor lacked for French foodstuffs; she ordered her coffee beans from New Orleans, croissants from Minneapolis, and shopped for anchovies, olives and seafood at Detroit's Eastern Market. She was able to source local fresh eggs, butter, and milk from area dairies. Without hesitation, she engaged her brigade of children to pick fruit, help put up jams, jellies, and crank the meat grinder for pâtés.

In the mid-1970’s, Mrs. Meadows worked part-time at the Kitchen Port in Kerrytown, leaving in 1975 to establish her own cookware and cooking school, The Compleat Cuisine, Ltd. with a business partner. The shop sponsored then touring cookbook authors such as Julia Child and Simone Beck, and held cooking demonstrations in the store on Main Street, with notable chefs like Jacques Pépin, Marcella Hazan, and Paula Wolfert, Additionally, up and coming cooks, such as Ian Titterton and Rick Bayless, also worked in her store,.

In later years, Mrs. Meadows delighted in her travels abroad visiting family and friends, tasting wines and dining in all the regions of France. On one excursion along the Silk Road from China to Russia, riding partway in Mongolia on camelback. She was extremely well read in French and Russian literature and history. Over the years she enjoyed needlework tapestry, growing African violets, having cats and dogs, and raising finches.

Meuhlig Funeral Chapel is handling cremation arrangements. A memorial service will be announced at a later date for this spring. Donations may be made to a charity of your choice.