Red socks keep your feet warmer and burnt toast makes your teeth white. These are a few of the tips I learned from my mother. 

Janet passed away peacefully on the morning of May 1st 2009 after a long battle with cancer. She was very strong through some very trying times. Weakened by non hodgkins lymphoma, suffering with shingles and the lose of dad just a year ago she was still a joy to be around. Even in her final days she offered to babysit for us so we could have a date. 

Mom didn't have to work, she was happiest being a mom and what a great job she did. When I was born, a day before Gary my oldest brother's birthday, she made sure he had something to open on his birthday. From her maternity room she wrapped us some coins in a tissue as a present for Gary. When I was devastated that I had lost one of the hands from my Big Jim doll mom made sure I had a replacement the next day. I'm sure exactly where she found a replacement so quickly, but I can't help but think somewhere another Big Jim sat on a toy store shelf missing a hand, but she did what she needed to do to take care of her children. 

She was a pisser too. A card-cheat and if you crossed her you wouldn't want to look inside a beautifully wrapped present that mysteriously showed up on you doorstep. She would never give us tips on some of her recipes. I think she wanted to take that with her as her legacy. God I'll miss that pot roast.

Janet, like my father, didn't want to have a memorial. We plan to scatter her remains in a location to be determined later. Please feel free to look at some photos here and share you memories.

Thank you all for being such a good friend to her,

Jon Gudgel