Janie Ward-Newton

Janie was born in Alamance, NC on April 13, 1951. She graduated from Southern Alamance High School, and received a bachelors in English from NC State University.

Janie was married to Mike Newton-Ward on September 12, 1992. They were married for 34 years, although they dated for six years. They joked that they were already an old married couple by the time they had the ceremony.

Janie’s work was dedicated to improving the lives of families and communities in North Carolina and nationally, during her 41 years at the National Early Childhood Technical Assistance System through the Frank Porter Graham Center, UNC-Chapel Hill, and in the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. In NC DHHS, she variously managed the database at the Careline, the state’s toll-free human service information and referral line. She also was a program consultant in the statewide Immunization Program, where she advised local health department on implementing the Vaccines for Children Program and contributed to the development of a childhood immunization database. Janie also was tapped to be Executive Director of Governor James G. Martin’s Commission on the Family.

She twice received the Order of the Longleaf Pine, awarded by Governors of North Carolina to persons for exemplary service to the State.

She participated in community organizations by serving on the finance committee of the YWCA and volunteering with Preservation Raleigh to show historic properties.

In her personal life, Janie was known as being a “cat social worker.” She regularly fed stray cats, took them to her veterinary practice and paid for their examinations, vaccinations, and adoption. Not to be deterred by weather, she once convinced her husband to go outside with her in one of Raleigh’s rare blizzards to rescue a stray cat she saw in the parking lot.

Janie loved collecting North Carolina pottery and would research locations of craft stores on any trip around the state. She expressed her own creative talents through photography, weaving on a home loom and, in retirement, falling in love with adult coloring projects. She has well over 100 coloring books, greeting cards and calendars which she colored or took inspiration from for gifts. Even when her neurological condition caused her handwriting to become illegible, she could still color the most detailed art projects, staying within the lines.

She enjoyed rock and blues music, especially the Rolling Stones, the Allman Brothers Band, and local cover bands. She and Mike were obsessed with playing Scrabble, owning at least six versions. Mike once discovered her hiding a book on winning strategies in a closet.

Mike describes Janie as the most conscientious, thoughtful person he has ever known. She always paid attention to what people liked and what was special to them. No gift from Janie was ever generic, it was always something she knew the recipient would value. For Mike, she was the queen of tchotchkes and sweet notes. His closet is full of 40 years of these beloved items. They were affectionate as a couple, with people commenting on how they were always holding hands. Mike cannot recall a single night when they did not talk by phone if one of them was out of town during their 40 years of knowing each other.

Janie is survived by her spouse, Mike, her sister, Rebecca Farrington, Burlington, NC, nieces Susan Heidinger, Siler City, NC, and Anne Browne of Greensboro, GA, nephews Allen Farrington of Sherman Oaks, CA, and David Ward, Sr. of Okatie, SC, numerous grand- and great grand nieces and nephews, and many circles of friends.

Janie was preceded in death by her parents, Helen Shoffner Ward, and Albert Lynn Ward, Sr., and a brother, Albert Lynn Ward, Jr.

A celebration of life will be planned for a later date at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, Raleigh, NC.

Rather than flowers, memorial donations may be given to Transitions Life Care Hospice, Raleigh, NC, the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, Raleigh, NC, or to an animal rescue organization of your choice. Information on how to make online donations is listed below under "donations"

The family offers heartfelt thanks to the Hospice teams at Transitions Life Care and the staff of Visiting Angels, both of Raleigh, NC, for their love and care of both Janie and Mike in the latter parts of Janie‘s illness. Their care allowed Janie to have a peaceful and comfortable end of life in her home and provided Mike with respite to re-energize himself to care for Janie. The family also gives thanksgiving for the clergy, pastoral care team, and parishioners at the Church of the Good Shepherd. They surrounded Janie and Mike with the kind of care and love one would hope for from a faith community. As Mike said, “they make us feel like two raisins in a warm bowl of oatmeal.“