I still remember Janet from elementary school, when my family lived on Watch Hill Road (I seem to remember the Grunes living on Lafayette Avenue back then?) She was three days older than me. We lost touch when my family moved to Lexington Avenue in Mohegan Lake (Lakeland schools). 
My sincere condolences to her daughters, family and friends. 
Carole Keeler Wyland
Rotonda West, Florida

Hello Melissa & Emily,
My name is Diane Koster Holubowitch.  I knew your mother from SUNY Albany.  We had stayed in touch from those days.  I last saw her at her home in Peekskill about 12-14 years ago.  I had emailed a few times but hadn't gotten a response.  I then googled her name with "Peekskill" and sadly saw the obituary notice.  I'm so very sorry.  I just wanted to say I cherished the friendship I had with your mother.  She was a wonderful woman.  I watched all of your lovely 41 minute tribute video.  
I'm so very sorry to hear of her passing.  My heart goes out to you both.
Sincerely,
Diane

I remember meeting Janet over the phone in 1996.  As a matter of fact, she was the first person to call into Support Connection seeking support.  She was lovely and so grateful to know that there were people out there, women who went through cancer, who would list with compassion. We spoke many times and then, as she was doing better, we would catch up once in a while.  I will never forget her calling me years later to thank me for picking up her phone call and directing her to the support she needed.  Janet was a wonderful person and may she be resting in peace.  May all her family and friends find peace, joy and comfort in her memories.  
Thinking of you, Katherine Quinn, Executive Director, Support Connection

I worked with Janet at Pepsi. She was a wonderful and caring person who everyone got along with. Janet always had a smile on her face and every time I saw her at work she always had an upbeat attitude and one that everyone wanted. to be around.
Janet Rest In Peace and you are truly missed!


When we first met, she had a “little medical procedure” (massive understatement!) and was worried about feeling up to getting her girls supper and doing homework. Over time, I heard about her amazing daughters and concern about moving from England while she was healing and setting up a new home. 

The first time Janet and her daughters come for supper, music was a great topic. Michael had all his old records out, both daughters were laughing and good hearted arguing over the merits of several artists. Janet had such a look of joy on her face & breathed, oh, Val, they look so happy!

Over time, we watched both Melissa and Emmy grow up, go off to college, heard the travel adventures, cross country drives, kayaking, supper at California Pizza Kitchen hours before a major hurricane hit the east coast… weddings, babies, celebrations - Janet cuddled Soren when he was a few weeks old, came to his concerts, and shared worries. Janet would be positive, point out the good in people, wanted both daughters to be happy. She would never tell you directly what to do but ask questions and say, I wonder… I appreciated this gentle guidance and how she brought out the best in people. 

When Soren discovered he loved salmon after eating a full tray at Sean & Melissa’s wedding, he wanted to learn how to cook salmon himself. He was sure Janet could teach him. She shared how she cooked salmon, asked him what he thought, and thoughtfully listened when he had a LOT of thoughts on seasonings and flavors! She showed him how to test flakiness with a fork twist and said, “oh, Soren, you know just how to do things”. 

Janet is a gentle, beautiful soul who uplifted us to seek goodness and joy  - while always understated and standing outside of the spot light. I think of her reaction of seeing heaven for the first time - believe she will have the same joy and wonder as seeing her beautiful daughters and grand babies. I’m thankful for her. 

Love & hugs, Valerie  

I met Janet at SUNYA about 50 years ago and we've been friends ever since. We met up for dinners in NYC several times when I was living there, and I got to dance with her at her wedding.
I even visited her in England in December of 1984. And I remember a little baby (Melissa) in her crib. 
After she returned to the US, she and the girls visited us several times in Boston. But, one of my favorite memories goes back to college, and shows a slightly different side of her. You see, I had a mad crush on Janet, but she didn't seem too interested in me.
She finally told me that I was so obnoxious, she couldn't stand to be around me for more than 10 minutes at a time.
Well, over the years I guess I got better, since she started spending more than 10 minutes at a time with me ;), and we were friends for the rest of her life.
She was a gem and will be missed.

Support Connection offers free breast and ovarian cancer support services.  All of our counselors have had cancer, making a huge difference to people who need our services. When I opened Support Connection's doors 25 years ago in September 1996, Janet was the first phone call I received.  She mentioned how she saw the press release about us in the newspaper.  I had such a nice conversation with her before connecting her with one of our counselors.  She later called and thanked me.  Through the years, she always donated to our cause.  One of the fondest memories I had, one that touched my heart forever was a phone call I received from her a few years ago.  Janet thanked me so much for being there for her and for Support Connection helping her and so many people through the years.  I almost cried because to me we were doing our job but to her it was a connection that helped get her through a difficult time in her life.  I am so touched that her family has chosen Support Connection as a beneficiary.  We will do good in Janet's name. May her dear soul rest in peace, Katherine Quinn, Support Connection Executive Director

I wish I could say I knew Janet as well as so many who have written here. As it was I met her through a mutual friend when we were students at SUNY Albany. Many of my memories of her stem from a road trip/camping trip that a group of us took after graduation. Thank goodness for Janet. This young woman that I had always thought of as sweet and gentle turned out to be a lot tougher than I thought. She was the only one of us who knew how to pitch a tent and light a camp stove. If it wasn’t for Janet we all might have perished in the wilderness (or actually in the KOA campgrounds). The rest of us barely knew how to zip our sleeping bags!

Over the years I saw Janet only infrequently at gatherings arranged by our mutual friend. It was always a pleasure to see her and to find that in spite of some challenges in her life she was still the  sweet, kind person she had always been. That’s how I’ll remember her; as sweet, kind, strong, and one of the most genuine people I have ever known. When she spoke it was from the heart. I never heard her say a bad word about anyone. Though I haven’t seen Janet in years, I can still clearly hear her gentle voice and wonderful laugh.

Go in Peace Janet. You will be missed.

Sending condolences to Janet's family amd friends. ( I worked with Janet many years ago at PepsiCo. When I think of Janet it is with her bright smile and ability to calm situations. ) Warm regards, Monica McInerney

I met Janet the very first day the dorms opened at SUNY Albany our freshman year, 1971. I was escaping the bleak looking dorm and commotion of roommates moving into the suite by going for a run to the only natural place on campus – Indian Pond. I was a little nervous to enter the forested path by myself, not knowing the area at all, when I spied a young woman running up on the road above the trail I was on. Being a somewhat shy person, I cannot believe I called up to her and said, “Why don’t you run down here with me?” I remember the moment so well. She joined me and turned out to be Janet; we both lived in State Quad. We became close friends and lived together in an old brick house in downtown Albany across from Washington Park (666 Madison), for our sophomore year. We lived on the top two floors with three other young women above a dentist’s office.

One of the crazy but fun things we did our first autumn in Albany is hitchhike with another friend, Jeff Riach, to Hunter Mountain after classes one Friday. We climbed to the top of the mountain and stayed up all night talking and singing in the ski hut on top. Jeffrey had brought his guitar along. We hiked down at dawn.

Janet and I corresponded over the years via letters – she had gone to France for her junior year, and I had transferred to the University of Florida. We met up again in later years – she making two trips to North Florida and me visiting her home in Croton-on-Hudson, sharing our special places with each other. It was my turn to visit her next and I had hoped to see more of her since my daughter moved this year to Cornwall-on-Hudson. But it was not to be.

I am richer for having had such a good friend at a critical time in life. Janet was a kind, thoughtful, gentle, loving, and fun person and I will miss my friend. Weren’t we all fortunate to know and love her!


Janet and I were friends  for 44 years, having met at Banque Francaise du Commerce Exterieur (BFCE). Our friendship never waned.

Her move to London as a young bride in the early 80's did not deter us from having a robust letter correspondence. How I looked forward to hearing her news! I shared her frustration when her oven broke the day before Thanksgiving as she so wanted to celebrate this very American holiday in Surrey. But, somehow she managed to get through it. I visited her often when I was on my European jaunts. How we would laugh....our lack of regularly seeing each other never hindered us from having fun. We just picked up where we left off.

Our friendship blossomed again in person when she returned to the States. I was able to get to know her two beautiful young girls, whose friendship and love I cherish.

When I would come up to the Hudson Valley for one week each summer for about 5 summers (my son was a camper at the Rangers' Goalie Camp), Janet would take a day or two off and we would tour the area, enjoying the sights and some very good Greek food! One afternoon, we just sat on some rocks along the Hudson and talked and talked. She loved that river and and spoke so highly of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger,  who had done so much to help clean up the waters of the Hudson.



Janet was a loyal, kind, compassionate friend and will continue to be. I will continue to have "correspondence" with her on all matters, family, politics, and let me not forget to mention, our love of good books. I recently found a book she gave me, where she wrote ,"Hope you enjoy this book. Colm Toibin is one of my favorite authors. Enjoy! Love Janet"

Thank you Janet for all those memories we shared. God bless you!....We will meet again. I know you are in heaven, and I am striving to get there too!

Know that I love you, my dear friend, and always will. Clare Amoroso

In May 1981, just months after her wedding, I visited your mother and Roy for about two weeks. We had so much fun! One of the most memorable things we did was borrow Roy’s car and head to the Lake District and beyond.  We had a guidebook to the best places to have tea in England and planned our days around where to stop in the late afternoon for “high tea.” The book took us to some very out of the way places and along some very narrow roads.  Jan did a great job of driving on the “wrong” side, especially in the round abouts (we weren’t allowed to talk while she negotiated them.) We went as far as Edinburgh and Glasgow where we had fun buying kilts.  

About two years later I met Jan and Roy in Greece for a quick visit.  Visits were a tradition ever since becoming friends at SUNY Albany. We played basketball there together for one year.  Jan was a great ball handler but there was one young woman who was best of all – Tara.  Our main play was trying to get the ball to Tara.  I’ve only just discovered that Tara is Tara VanDerveer, the head coach of Stanford’s women’s basketball team for the past 30+ years.  Oh, how Jan and I would have laughed about that discovery. 

We visited each other as often as we could.  Once the family moved back to the States it was a little easier.  As our children got older, we planned get-away weekends and over many years met regularly in places mid-way between New York and Washington, mostly in the Philadelphia area. 

Your mother was honest and forthright.  Your mother was compassionate and empathetic.  Your mother was loving and kind. Your mother was funny and faithful.  We loved discussing books and ideas. Your mother had a great laugh. Your mother was a wonderful friend. 

Marie Snyder Cavanagh


Janet was one of my dearest most cherished friends. I met her at BFCE (Banque Francaise du Commerce Exterieur), my first job after college. She was on vacation when I started, but I learned a little about her from our boss who regularly talked about how he was the only head of operations of a foreign bank branch in NYC who had a loan clerk who read the NY Times every day! As you might imagine, I was curious to meet her. 

And when I did, I remember being astonished at how long her hair was, reaching down her back to her bum! And thinking what a sweet face she had. I was an instant admirer of her expertise with a calculator and innocently asked her if she had gone to school to learn how to use it! She looked at me a little puzzled by that thought and then proceeded to patiently explain to me how she did it. She had long since forgotten that incident, but I never did. She didn’t make me feel foolish for asking, she just simply explained. It set the stage for the rest of our lifetime friendship. 

Janet was kind, calm, quiet, thoughtful with an inner strength that I so respected.  She started her life over so many times. After her wedding, she moved to England; she faced and beat breast cancer; she moved back to the states with her two young children, always making the tough choices, meeting the challenges. It wasn’t ever easy, but she persevered and succeeded. 

But for me personally, her greatest gift was her ability to truly listen. She would calmly look at me while I rambled on, nodding with understanding or agreement, providing a word or two of encouragement, asking a pertinent question and maybe giving a word of advice here and there. Often, after our visits I questioned whether or not I had let her talk at all!

It wasn’t until recently, when I was fortunate enough to be able to see her in person again at Melissa and Sean’s, that we said aloud "I love you" to one another. I will miss her so much 

And, Janet, I  will always love you.







OBITUARY

Janet Jean Gover

April 20, 1953 – October 13, 2021

Edward F. Carter Funeral Home

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