Janet Curry

We are all put on this earth for a reason. Some to help others, some to teach, to be a friend and above all, to love. Janet was just such a person. An amazing woman, an Angel among us, bearing her burdens quietly, and helping others so graciously. Janet was a loving wife, mother and true friend, but most of all, she was a gift to all who knew her.

Janet’s story began on a cool fall day in 1954, as the leaves left the trees in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Those were turbulent times in this country, still reeling from the Korean War overseas, and battling the Cold War, Red Scare and racial tension here at home. On November 17, 1954, a cool fall Wednesday, John and Jean Merrifield celebrated the birth of a baby girl, a daughter they named Janet Kay.

Janet was the second of the couple’s three daughters, joining sisters Jolie and Judy in the family’s Otsego home. Growing up Janet didn’t have a very close relationship with her parents, and in fact became a very independent and self-reliant person at a very young age. A trait that would prove very necessary in her life to come.

In 1972, as a junior at Otsego High School, Jan was ready for a change of scenery. She met a young man named Dennis Haight, and the two were married in Otsego at her family’s home, later moving to Ft. Wayne Indiana, where she finished her high school career and graduated. It wasn’t long before the couple became parents, and in 1973 celebrated the birth of their first child, a son named Jason. Three years later, the new family moved back to the Otsego area where, on a beautiful May Day morning, their daughter Kristy was born into their family.

Janet divorced Dennis in 1979, but she wasn’t meant to be alone for long. A young man named Bob Curry came into her life. For their first date Bob took her to Red Lobster (always Jan’s favorite restaurant). They quickly fell in love. Jan and Bob were married in 1982 during their first of their many trips to Las Vegas. At the time Jan was working as a Medical Insurance Adjustor at the Hay market in Kalamazoo, and later became part owner of for Kal-Haven Motors ( with Bob), and later Unlimited Auto and Transmission.

Together the couple celebrated the birth of their son Steven. Coupled with Janet’s two children and Bob’s two, Bob III and Trish, they shared the ups and downs of a blended family.

One of Jan’s biggest accomplishments in life was to fully contract the building of their family home on Baseline Road in Plainwell. It is to this day a very beautiful home on a hill where she took great joy in watching many sun sets and the beauty of far off storms.

Jan and Bob traveled together often over the years, visiting Maui twice (Jan’s favorite place on earth), and took many trips to Las Vegas each year, too, where they always had such a good time. In 2002, after 20 years together, Jan and Bob’s marriage ended though they have remained on good terms.

During Jan’s life she would go on to earn her certification as an Emergency Medical Technician, though due to her own medical needs, she would never have the chance to put her training into practice.

Jan was a truly remarkable woman, who endured so many physical challenges through most of her adult life. Since 1980, she has battled cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and liver failure among numerous other ailments. She had undergone countless surgeries, biopsies, and extensive hospital stays over the years, in the Kalamazoo area, Ann Arbor, and Mayo Clinic. Through it all, she remained an incredibly upbeat and positive person, determined to not be beaten emotionally or spiritually, despite what she suffered physically. Jan was always a fighter.

Remarkably, no matter what she was going through, Jan always found the strength to help others. She took great comfort and joy in helping those in need. She was a volunteer for and a board member of the American Cancer Society. For several years she and a few unnamed friends would decorate a tree along U.S. 131 in honor of all cancer patients.

Jan relied on her dear friends Lynne Livingston and George and Beverly Jensen, and the love of her children to get her through. Despite her many medical challenges throughout the years, Jan was determined to remain a loving friend and attentive “Mom” to many. The greatest days of her life were without question, the births of each of her own children, who even through the rough times, brought her such pride and joy.

Sadly, on Wednesday, June 20, at the age of 52, Janet lost her long battle with illness. Ever the selfless, kind and caring individual she was, Jan made sure that her wheelchairs and other medical equipment was given to someone truly in need. She also has made sure that her clothing was donated to a woman's shelter.

That’s just the kind of remarkable woman Jan was, though, always thinking of others, regardless of her own needs. She was kind, she was compassionate, generous and gracious. A beloved wife, mother, and a wonderful, unforgettable friend. Jan was put here for a reason, an Angel among us, to help us, teach us, and to bless us, with her life, her love, and her memory. She will be greatly missed.

Learn more about Janet, visit with her family and friends and view her Life Story film Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Life Story Funeral Home, RDMG Plainwell, 120 S. Woodhams. Graveside services for Janet will be held Monday at 11 a.m. at Hillside Cemetery. Members of Janet’s family include her mother Jean O’Connor, FL, John Merrifield (since passed) Children, Jason Haight, VA, Kristy Warman, IL and Steven Curry. Plainwell, MI. Step-children Bob Curry III and Trish Curry, also of MI. Sisters Jolie Penson, IN and Judy Merrifield, Plainwell, MI. Several grandchildren and special friends who cared for Janet, Lynne Livingston, George and Beverly Jensen and Wendy Castaneda.

Please visit Janet’s Memory Page at www.lifestorynet.com where you can read her Life Story, share a favorite memory or photo, sign her memory book online. In lieu of flowers, please make a memorial donation to Borgess Visiting Nurse Association.