Janet Marie DeWitt

Dr. Janet Marie DeWitt, of Kildeer, Illinois, beloved wife, mother, and friend, and a scientist and executive whose career was defined by advances in biotechnology and efficiency with Abbott Laboratories, passed away peacefully, surrounded by loving family on August 25, 2026, at Endeavor Health Evanston Hospital in Evanston, Illinois. She was 72. The cause was a hemorrhagic stroke due to cerebral amyloid angiopathy.

Born Janet Marie Piwowarski on December 9, 1953, in Mattoon, Illinois, she was the daughter of the late Aloysius James and Kathleen Lucile (née Lang) Piwowarski. Growing up in Mattoon, Springfield, and Oak Lawn, Illinois, Janet traveled across the country on camping vacations with her family, developing an early love and curiosity for travel, life, creativity, and practical problem-solving. She learned about nature, science, historic and iconic places, and geography with her family. She was an excellent student and played the clarinet in the marching band, graduating from Richards High School in Oak Lawn, Illinois, in 1972. Her curiosity about the natural living world led her to study biology and chemistry at Northern Illinois University, the first in her family to attend college, where she graduated with University Honors, the Dean’s Award, and bachelor's degrees in 1976. She went on to research plant pathology, genetics, and biochemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, receiving her Ph.D. in 1980. It was there, as first-year graduate students, that she and Greg met and became the loves of each other’s lives. Dr. DeWitt then joined Abbott Laboratories as a research scientist, rising through the ranks as a section chief, department manager, director, and divisional vice president of domestic manufacturing operations. She made significant contributions to Abbott Laboratories to develop products and to improve biopharma and diagnostics manufacturing efficiency, safety, and technical operations. Her work was recognized in 2001 and 2002 with the President’s and Chairman’s Awards for the launch of an important clot-dissolving product. She published numerous articles and was invited to present her work at numerous industry conferences and work symposia. She served on numerous corporate committees and boards, including the Biosafety Committee, the Clara Abbott Foundation, the Higher Education Committee of the Abbott Fund, the Executive Committee for Women Leaders in Action, and as the executive sponsor for Diagnostics Women in Action. Janet ultimately served as divisional vice president of diagnostics global manufacturing technology until her retirement in 2009. Since 2019, Janet was a consultant for AbbVie’s Lake County Institutional Biosafety Committee, which advances a culture of safe research at AbbVie. She left a career legacy as a leader, mentor, and friend to countless colleagues and many more who knew her.

Together with Greg, Janet raised two sons, Alex and Mike, in Buffalo Grove and Kildeer, Illinois. As a Mom, she frequently dropped off her boys at school always with the steady advice: “Work hard, be a scholar, and be a good person.” That was exactly who Janet was herself. She was known to family and friends for her kindness, quick wit, and deep love of reading. A fun, funny, and wise friend, she was a dedicated member of her neighborhood “Ridge Readers” book club and she read widely, with a particular fondness for history, historical fiction, detective mysteries, and Scandinavian and British noir. She and Greg loved watching subtitled television series together in those genres. Janet kept her mind sharp with crossword puzzles, word games, and board and card games, and she routinely listened to audiobooks throughout the day. Janet also loved music, art, and crafts. She rarely missed any of her sons’ piano, cello, trombone, or ensemble concerts from grade school through college. Her diverse interests drew her to musical theater, the Ravinia Festival, and the symphonies of Chicago, Boston, and San Francisco, as well as live rock and country concerts. Whether she was diving into music history like Ken Burns’ "Country Music" or Beatles documentaries, or simply enjoying the fun of "American Idol," Janet truly loved it all. She was a gracious and amazing hostess, cook, and organizer for dinner parties with family and friends, luncheons, brunches, holiday gatherings and family birthdays, sometimes preparing traditional Polish dishes in the old family way of her childhood. Janet loved sometimes treating cooking as a fun science experiment, following or modifying recipes along the way. She loved breadmaking, fully understanding the fermentation process and how it also applied to producing yogurt, cheese, wine, beer, and even in her career for the biopharma fermentation production of antibiotics. She was also a talented quilter and stitcher, sewing quilted blankets for family and friends, as well as handmade Halloween costumes for her grandchildren. An avid traveler, she visited Europe, East Asia, and Central America for both work and leisure, continuing a lifelong love for travel that began on childhood family camping trips. Janet loved the water, the sea, and exercising in the water, from her fitness center at home to Massachusetts to Hawaii. She especially loved Greg’s grandparents' home and her neighbor friends on the South Coast shore of Massachusetts by the ocean. There, in between beach and water days, she worked alongside Greg with expert contractors to make many improvements, turning the home into a wonderful gathering place for family and friends. She loved the ocean, the beautiful cranberry bogs, and the amazingly fresh fish of the Massachusetts South Coast area. Janet was always thoughtful, practical, and brilliant in her approach to creating goodness and love for family, friends, and work. May Janet’s memory be a blessing for all.

Janet leaves behind a family that adored her: Greg, for whom Janet was the love of his life; her sons, Alex (Alyssa) DeWitt and Mike (Sheila) DeWitt; her four grandchildren, Kate, Hannah, Jonny, and Annie DeWitt; her brother, Tony (Evelyn) Piwowarski; her nieces, Katie McHugh, Lexi Piwowarski, and Cindy Piwowarski; and her nephews: Allen Piwowarski, Philip Piwowarski, and Thomas Piwowarski. She was predeceased by her parents, Aloysius James and Kathleen Lucile Piwowarski; her two siblings, Cindy McHugh and Phil (Jo) Piwowarski; her niece, Karen McHugh; and her nephew, Kris Piwowarski.

In keeping with her wishes, Janet is being cremated. The family is planning a Memorial and Celebration of Life for Janet to be held at 10:00 am on December 12, 2026, at Glueckert Funeral Home, 1520 N Arlington Heights Rd, Arlington Heights, IL 60004, just after her 73rd birthday in December. A luncheon will follow. Attendees may optionally receive updates as the family makes plans at the website here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScaFOtl4M8xkssDBBosZzJLQdEyv95IHWllPWrWsaNtRdbgQQ/viewform

Donations in Janet’s memory may be made as a living memorial to support the Chicago Botanic Garden (online at chicagobotanic.org) or by mail:

Chicago Botanic Garden Attn: Donor Services, in memory of Janet M. DeWitt 1000 Lake Cook Road Glencoe, IL 60022

Janet’s family will also fund a meaningful donation in her memory to the Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy (CAA) Research Program: https://www.angiopathy.org/support-us at Massachusetts General Hospital (for more information see Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy https://www.angiopathy.org/), which performs scientific and clinical research into the causes and treatments for CAA.