Janet Friedman
In Loving Memory
A Tribute to Jan Friedman
From Her Loving Husband, Stu
It is with profound sadness that I announce the passing of my beloved wife, Janet Friedman, who passed away on April 15, 2026.
Janet and I were married for 58 years. She was my partner in every sense of the word and the love of my life. Together we built a family and a home filled with warmth, laughter and care.
Janet was an exceptional woman—brilliant, creative and deeply compassionate. She had remarkable intelligence and a natural curiosity about the world. She especially loved nature and she expressed that love through her beautiful gardens. Her property truly is a paradise filled with flowers and thoughtfully tended spaces that reflect her patience, passion, vision and joy of living things.
She was also extraordinarily creative and talented with her hands. Janet worked with all kinds of natural materials, but especially shells gathered from beaches in our area. She transformed them into intricate and beautiful works of art. Where I would see just a shell, Janet would see an invitation to make something beautiful. Janet could see the finished piece in her mind as her hands worked to reflect her vision. She made small Christmas trees from pistachio nuts, painstakingly placing and gluing each husk in just the right place, finally painting them white and garnishing them with silver sparkles. She made decorative pieces that could be displayed on walls, turning scraps of material into beautiful fish or flowers. Her works were so well crafted that she sold pieces through local craft shops. Her work was appreciated by many.
While Janet’s creativity was important to her, it was second to her professional career. Janet devoted much of her life to nursing. She was a Registered Nurse and served for many years as a surgical nurse and then as a school nurse. Her compassion, calm presence and genuine care for others made a lasting difference in the lives of many children and families.
More than anything, Janet will be remembered for who she was as a person—funny, warm and full of laughter. She found humor in ordinary things and passed that humor on to friends and family. She brought light into every room she entered and had a gift for making people feel comfortable, cared for and valued.
Our home will be different now. Her work still adorns our walls, and I will tend her garden to keep it the beautiful place she created. But there is a sadness in her empty chair, in the birds by the window and in the rain as it cascades down the vertical row of rain catchers she asked me to install. Janet’s life was one of love, creativity, service and beauty. She will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered always. She made our world a beautiful place just by being in it.
Janet is survived by her devoted husband, Stuart, her daughters Amy Cox, Lori Friedman, Jesse Friedman, her grandchildren Carter Cox, Emily Cox and Kassidy Cox, as well as her sister, Jacqueline Hansen and many, many friends who will forever carry her memory forward.