Obituary of Letty Janecek

Doug, Here is another draft copy with the changes you asked for, I also added a question as to which day for the Star Ledger. Tom Norman Dean Home for Services 16 Righter Avenue Denville, New Jersey 07834 (973) 627-1880 Morristown Daily Record for Sunday, February 1, 2015 Bethlehem Morning Call for Sunday, February 1, 2015 Star Ledger for Thursday Jan.29 or Friday Jan.30. Reason for that question most people may want more than a day to make arrangements to attend? Thirza “Letty” Janecek, died on Wednesday Jan 21, 2015 at her home in Basking Ridge, NJ at the age of 97. She was born in Barrow-in-Furness, England and came to the US in 1919, settling in Bethlehem, PA. She lived 32 years overseas before moving to Morris Plains, NJ and finally moving to Basking Ridge in 1996. She was a Medical Technologist and worked in several hospitals in Pennsylvania and W. Virginia. He husband Rudolph J. died on May 29, 1996. She is survived by her children David of Apache Junction, AZ, Douglas of Montclair, NJ, Joyce Poole of Lake Charles, LA, Jeanne Searer of West Chester, PA and Linda Simonpietri of Vernon Hills, IL as well as 12 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at Fellowship Village, Basking Ridge on Sat. Jan. 31, 2015 at 11:00 AM and funeral services will be held at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC at a later date. All services are being handled by Norman Dean Home for Services in Denville, NJ. Please share a memory of Letty by lighting a candle on our web site, www.normandean.com Thirza Letitia (Letty) Ward Janecek died peacefully on Jan 21, 2015 at Fellowship Village in Basking Ridge, NJ. She was 97 years old. Letty was born in England and came to the US with her parents and brothers Leonard (Red) and Jerry (Vic) when she was 2 years old. Her father had been hired by Bethlehem Steel and the family settled in Bethlehem, PA. Eventually, her father chose US citizenship and her grandparents joined them in the US, bringing with them Letty's younger sister, Dinah (Pud) and buying a farm in Coopersburg, PA. Letty always retained some of her British family influence. Letty graduated from Bethlehem High School and Moravian College for Women with a Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Technology. Upon completion of an internship at Easton Hospital, PA, she passed the board certification of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists and was registered as a Medical Technologist (M.T.). She then worked at Myer's Clinic of Philippi, WV and Jameson Memorial Hospital in New Castle, PA. It was while working at Jameson Hospital that she met her future husband during a dance for officers – they met in the dark after a WWII blackout turned out the lights and the rest is history. Letty was preceded in death by all of her siblings and by her husband of 53 years, Rudolph (Rudy) Joseph Janecek, who had a long career with Exxon Corporation. She and Rudy raised 5 children while living overseas for 32 years. The family lived in Aruba, Colombia, Argentina, France, Okinawa, and Spain before returning permanently to the US and settling in Morris Plains, NJ, near Rudy's work for Exxon in Florham Park. They were assigned for several years to San Mateo, CA and for one last brief international tour in Holland. In 1996, they were among the first residents to move into Fellowship Village Retirement Community, near Liberty Corner, NJ. Letty's passion for improving the quality of people's lives was expressed in her many volunteer and social leadership activities, beginning at an early age as a Girl Scout in Bethlehem. She was inspired to become a Brownie and Girl Scout leader, served as unit head at Camp Mosey Wood, and helped guide young scouts in Pennsylvania, Aruba, Colombia, and Argentina. An avid bridge player since college, Letty was always involved in playing and organizing bridge clubs wherever she lived. She taught bridge in Aruba and Colombia and developed the bridge and duplicate activities in Fellowship Village. While living abroad, Letty strived to be a “good ambassador” and enjoyed contributing to the local community. She studied German in college and learned Spanish while living in South America, picking up a little French and Japanese from her years in those countries as well. She was a life-long member of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and President of the American Legion Women's Auxiliary in Aruba. Four of Letty and Rudy’s five children were born on Aruba. Their fifth child was born in Barrancabermeja, Colombia. From the jungles of Barranca, they moved to Cartagena, on the breezy Caribbean coast. While in Colombia, she was editor of “The Bocagrande News” a “small-town” English newsletter serving the local expat community with articles on Colombian culture and history, news from the US, local events, and an active classified section. She took Spanish classes and Latin dance lessons with other expats. Under the auspices of the USIS, she was a founding member of the Centro Colombo-Americano, a bi-national cultural organization promoting awareness and good-will between Colombians and the USA. She volunteered with passion and became a member of the board. For her service, Letty was honored with a citation from the US Ambassador to Colombia and with an honorary lifetime membership in the Centro Colombo-Americano. From Colombia, the family went to Argentina, where Letty continued her dedication to bridge, the AAUW, the Girl Scouts, and was a guiding leader of the Methodist Youth-Fellowship (MYF). After two years in Argentina, the family was transferred to France, where the boys went to school in Paris, while the three girls attended a local French school where no English was spoken. Meanwhile, Letty taught them the Calvert correspondence curriculum at night. After a year, the family returned back to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Their next move took them from South America to Asia. While in Okinawa (1970-1971), Letty served the American Red Cross as the assistant program coordinator of volunteer activities and served as a nurse's aide in the US Army Hospital at Camp Kue. Then it was back to Europe, where Rudy & Letty lived in Castellon de la Plana, Spain, while their two youngest daughters attended high-school on the US Air Force Base in Zaragoza. Upon returning to the US, Letty volunteered with the Morris County Hospice, assisted in the Parsippany High School English as a Second Language (ESL) program, and was president of the Parsippany West Seniors. She organized and became president of the Exxon Morris Area Annuitants Investment Club. Letty was an original “pioneer” at Fellowship Village, and served on the Resident Council. She always tried to make newcomers welcome and included. Her contributions include establishing the Cluster Meetings, having automatic doors installed at building entrances, wooden benches placed in the hallways, and wheelchairs assigned to each cluster. She and Kathryn Patterson established what is now a tradition - the observance of a Red Rose to honor a resident when they pass and to let the community know of their passing. Letty coordinated a group of 20 knitters despite no formal meetings. She purchased yarn, planned sales for craft fairs, and arranged the distribution of knitted items to various charities. Letty was also instrumental in establishing the program “Mind Over Mind” at Fellowship Village. Thanks to the NJ Department of Aging, she was able to purchase and donate the program to the village, and the first offering the Village made had over 120 participants. Letty became quite blind in her later years and was a strong proponent of the Low-Vision group. Originally an Episcopalian, Letty was a long-time member of the United Methodist Church at Mt. Tabor, NJ. She was active as a greeter on the hospitality committee and coordinated the “Pairs and Spares” social group. For a while at Fellowship Village, she was also a member of the Presbyterian Church of Liberty Corner. Letty is survived by her five children, David, Douglas, Joyce, Jeanne, and Linda, twelve grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren. Her husband, Rudy, was a retired US Army Captain, allowing a private funeral service to be held in Washington, DC, where she will join forever her loving husband in Arlington National Cemetery.