Janet H. Davis

Janet was born on August 9, 1931 in Tacoma Park, MD to Paul and Anna (Wright) Niner. She had five sisters and grew up on a farm on Cacapon Mountain, WV. She graduated from Berkeley Springs High School in 1949. Janet attended Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH and received a summa cum laude BA degree in Elementary Education, and an MA degree as a Reading Specialist. She later received an MA degree in English from Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, PA. In 1990, Janet retired from over three decades of teaching both elementary and secondary grades in Ohio and Maryland.

Janet was married to her first husband, Joseph Estep, for twenty years and had three children, Donald, Janet Lynn and John. She married William Lee Davis, M.D. on Valentine's Day (February 14) 1986 and became a stepmother to Bryan, Jim and Becki.

Janet had a wide range of interests and skills. She always threw herself fully into any pursuit. Her husband, Lee, said, "she never learned the M word" (moderation). She loved activities with her grandchildren, gardening, shoveling snow, pruning, the challenge of finishing the Sunday Washington Post crossword puzzle, reading, drawing, painting and handicrafts. She built and furnished an entire Victorian doll house the year after she retired and donated it to Menno Haven Retirement Community. Her needlecraft skills ranged from knitting, crocheting, needlepoint, spinning, weaving, tatting, and tailoring, to designing and executing cross stitch projects including a commemorative quilt for Penn Hall that won blue ribbons at the Franklin County and Shippensburg Fairs, and Best of Show at the Shippensburg Fair.

Janet's outdoor activities included SCUBA diving, where she logged 200 dives locally and in the Caribbean, and earned Divemaster certification, backpacking and camping on the Appalachian Trail, target shooting, and participation in Cowboy Action Shooting under the alias "Flora Love". Janet was a Patron Life Member of the National Rifle Association, and a Life Member of the Single Action Shooting Society.

Janet's "special" adventures included: whitewater rafting on the Youghiogheny River; two summers canoeing the Upper Missouri River following the footsteps of Lewis & Clark; a trip to Maui, HI; cruising the St Lawrence Seaway, cruising on the Mystic Clipper, a gaff-rigged topsail schooner, out of Mystic, CT; a train trip through the Canadian Rockies on the Rocky Mountaineer; a hot air balloon trip over Frederick, MD; and graduating from a weekend sailing school in Annapolis, MD.

Janet's greatest interest was sharing historical portrayals with her husband, Lee, beginning in 1986. These portrayals involved researching, making and collecting appropriate period shelters, clothing, personal effects, utensils, and tools. The period clothing and uniforms that Janet made were works of art. Included in these portrayals were talks, programs and historical reenactments of the periods from the early 1600's, through the French & Indian War (1755-1763), the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), to the War of 1812. The talks and programs were given to school children, libraries, civic, historical, and fraternal organizations. Janet helped to organize and run a Children's Colonial Day at Fort Frederick, MD that ran for three years. She made thirty sets of boys and girls adjustable colonial costumes for the participants, and taught sewing, candle making, and colonial school with horn books and slates. Janet and Lee were deeply involved in the restoration of historic Fort Loudoun, PA and its associated James Patton house in 2018 & 2019.

Janet is survived by her husband, Lee, her three children, three stepchildren and their spouses, ten grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Internment will be at Fort Indiantown Gap National Cemetery at the convenience of the family.

Donations may be made in Janet's name to the local Salvation Army.