Janet C. Woltkamp Thacker

Janie was born in Kansas City, Missouri on December 8, 1952 to Ruth and Harry Woltkamp. The second of eight siblings, Janie grew up in Liberty in a home full of love and laughter; her family and her faith were the cornerstones of her beautiful life.

She attended St. James School and Liberty High School, both in Liberty, Missouri. She met her husband of 47 years, Darrell, while attending Central Missouri State College. After graduation, she married Darrell and then worked at a variety of jobs related to her geography and environmental interests - for the federal Defense Mapping Agency, at Burns & McDonnell as a Computer Aided Design operator, at Johnson County Community College in their environmental services department, and later for an environmental engineering company. She stepped away to devote herself to her role as Mom to her two boys. Janie was a Boy Mom through and through: she displayed remarkable enthusiasm for monster trucks, transformers and Ninja Turtles, and shared her love of reading with the young during many volunteer hours at her boys' neighborhood elementary school library. Janie took pride in her home being ‘the house’ on the block where all the neighborhood kids wanted to play, and she made sure every friend, neighbor and classmate was treated like family when they walked through her front door.

Janie was a determined agent of change; she cared deeply about making the world around her better. Whether it was volunteering her time on the Overland Park Legacy of Greenery committee or lending her voice for many years to the Overland Park City Planning Commission, Janie was an outspoken advocate for safer, smarter, more inclusive initiatives related to planning and zoning — and she did not hesitate to speak up when she disagreed. She was tenacious, persistent and passionate when it came to the betterment of her community. She was a lifelong learner, relentlessly curious about the world; she loved to read and travel.

Her grandson, Casey, simply adored her. He knows she will always be sparkling in every rainbow.

She is survived by her mother, Ruth Woltkamp, her husband, Darrell Thacker, her two sons, Aaron (Jenna) Thacker of Atlanta, GA and Kyle Thacker of Santa Fe, NM and many loving siblings, in-laws, nieces, nephews, aunt, cousins — a large extended family.

Services will be held on Friday, December 15, 2023 with Visitation from 9:30 -10:30 AM, Rosary at 10:30 AM, Funeral Mass at 11:00 AM, all at St. James Catholic Church, 309 South Stewart Road, Liberty, MO 64068, followed with a Private Family Burial at Fairview-New Hope Cemetery in Liberty, Missouri. A luncheon will be held after at St. James Church beginning at 12:45 PM - all are invited.

In lieu of flowers or gifts, Janie's family has asked for donations made in her name to one of her favorite places, the Friends of the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, P. O. Box 26392, Overland Park, Kansas 66225, artsandrec-op.org/arboretum/donate/. Donations may also be made to the American Cancer Society, cancer.org/DignityMemorial, to help find a cure for cancer and end cancer deaths.

Arrangements are under the direction of Church Archer Pasley Funeral Home, 816-781-2000.