Janet Claire Valade

Our beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother Janet Valade, died on May 23, 2026, after a short illness. She was 84. Janet Valade, born in 1941 in Portland, Oregon, lived a life marked by a thirst for learning, creativity, and deep love for her family. She is survived by her three children, Kim Guthrie, Rikki Valade, and Robert Valade; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren, all of whom were a deep source of pride, joy, and love throughout her life.

Janet began her academic journey at Oregon State University in La Grande, Oregon, while living with her husband and children in the small town of Cove. She later moved to Eugene, where she attended the University of Oregon and earned both a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a master’s degree in Applied Psychology. Janet eventually relocated with her children to Claremont, California, where she pursued post-master’s studies at Claremont Graduate School and completed all requirements for a doctorate in Psychology except her dissertation. Her intelligence, determination, and wide-ranging interests led to a distinguished and varied career as an author, instructor, web designer and programmer, technical writer, and systems analyst in academia at California State University, Los Angeles, CA. She authored multiple books in the PHP & MySQL For Dummies series and contributed chapters to publications on Dreamweaver and Linux. A lifelong learner, Janet continued taking college courses well into her fifties and sixties at San Diego State University, completing all Computer Science coursework required for a bachelor’s degree, along with additional graduate-level coursework.

A true free spirit, Janet embraced life with enthusiasm, practicality, and an open heart. She enjoyed the beach, watching tennis, music, the arts, and movies, and she maintained a lifelong interest in health and wellness, especially the role of vitamins, supplements, and integrative medicine in supporting the body’s well-being. She was an avid reader, often finishing more than 400 books in a single year, and she took considerable pride in exploring and preserving her family’s history, tracing her ancestry back five generations. Family gatherings and milestone celebrations meant the world to her, and she delighted in cheering on her grandchildren and great-grandchildren in their chosen sports, with soccer holding a special place in her heart. Janet cared deeply about keeping family connections strong and enduring. She will be remembered for her brilliant mind, warm humor, generous heart, deep love of family, and the joy and warmth she brought to every celebration and to all who knew her. Janet cherished her family more than anything else and found great happiness in watching each generation grow, pursue their passions, and build lives of their own. Her love for them was constant, generous, and deeply felt. She will be deeply missed.