Janet was born in Bethany, Mo., on Oct. 31, 1941, to Clifford and Ethel Smith, who are both deceased.
Jan married Richard L. Meyer on Jan. 20, 1962.
Survivors include: her husband, Richard Meyer; brother Charles (Gloria) Smith; daughter Annette (Tom) Kowal and their children, Matt, Jeremy, Cheyenne, Sofia and Joel; and son Mark (Jackie) Meyer and their three children, Amanda (Luke) Young and daughter Elizabeth, Richie and Zach.
Jan was graduated from Cainsville (Mo.) High School in 1960. She was an avid reader and strong in academics, basketball and music. Her college career was started at Iowa Wesleyan College (IWC) in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and was later completed at Western NM University. She pursued a vocation of teaching young people in Deming, N.M., where she lived from 1971 to 2006 helping them learn to play the piano, enjoy reading in the children’s room of the public library and get an education as fourth and fifth graders at Martin Elementary School.
In 1960, while at IWC, she met Richard L. Meyer, who would be her best friend for 56 years and her husband for 54 of those.
While living in the Chicago area with the family in the late 1960s, Jan committed her life to the Christian faith, which became her avocation on this earth until her death. She used her talents, especially on the piano, to join in congregational worship in numerous churches around Southern New Mexico. While living in Alamosa from 2006 to 2013, she shared her music at assisted-living facilities and shared meals and her faith in her home with life groups from LWBF Church.
Since 2013, she shared her piano music with residents at The Wing and, as a member of the United Methodist Church, has fellowshipped with the ladies of the UMW, which has been a “love in Christ” relationship until her death.
