Memorial Service: Wednesday, April 2nd at 1pm at CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ALL SAINTS (818 E. JUNEAU AVE, MILWAUKEE)
Interment: A private burial has taken place at Natural Path Sanctuary in Verona, Wisconsin
Janet Elizabeth Gardner
1940 – 2025
Janet Elizabeth Gardner (née Hallett), aged 84, lately of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, died February 26, 2025.
She leaves one child, Christie Manussier and her husband Joseph of Racine; five nieces, Jacqueline Baric and her husband John, Cathy Gibson and her husband Phil, Emily Price and her husband Michael, Ellen Gardner, and Eve Gardner; two nephews, Stuart Hayhurst, and Scott Hutchison and his wife Fabiola; two brothers-in-law, John Hayhurst and Patrick Hutchison; and many cousins. Her two sisters Beverly Hayhurst and Barbara Hutchison predeceased her. She was born and raised in northern Ontario, daughter of the late Ned and Dorothy (née Eoll) Hallett.
Jan, who went by her middle name Elizabeth in her youth and young adulthood, earned her R.N. from Toronto General Hospital in 1962 and went on to work in various intensive care situations over the subsequent two decades. At a time when she and many of her peers faced a career choice that was limited to teaching or nursing, she undertook her work with dedication and deep compassion, though the field was one she would not have freely selected for herself. There are people alive today thanks to her skill in high-stakes situations.
In a life that often presented obstacles that lacked clear solutions, Jan persisted, relying on her steadfast Christian faith, and taking joy in everyday pleasures: singing with enthusiasm, if not a honed skill; cardinals (the bird, not the sportsball); sewing (years ago) and crochet more recently; and the hope that “one of these days” she’d try painting again. Unfortunately, the last was not to be.
She resided at various times in San Diego, California; Honolulu, Hawaii; Stafford, Virginia; and Fredericksburg, Texas before settling in Wisconsin more than 20 years ago.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 2 at the Cathedral Church of All Saints, 818 E. Juneau Avenue, Milwaukee. Friends and family will gather after the service at Gingerz in Bayview.
She was buried privately on March 11 at Natural Path Sanctuary in Verona, Wisconsin.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the American or Canadian Cancer Society, Doctors Without Borders or United24 will be gratefully appreciated. To plant trees in her memory, please visit A Tree to Remember.
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