Janie Ruth Sander
January 6, 1921 - May 11, 2011
Obituary
Janie Ruth Johnson Sander
Janie Ruth Johnson Sander, age 90, passed away on May 11, 2011 from natural causes. Born in Pavo, Georgia on January 6, 1921 to Robert Edward Lee Johnson and Anna Isabelle Mott, Janie was the fourth of five children. At a young age her family moved to the Miami, Florida area where Janie and her younger brother, Charlie, would swim in Biscayne Bay, have mango fights and enjoy the outdoors. After graduating from Miami Edison High School, Janie attended Florida State College for Women now Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL. Finishing a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education in 1942 and with enough science to teach high school biology Janie moved to Sarasota, FL, and taught for a year while living with her older brother, Levi, and his family. It was in Sarasota during a USO dance that Janie would be asked to dance to ‘White Christmas’ by a young Army Air Corp Aviation Cadet, Bill. They would correspond for five years and eventually marry.
In 1943 during World War II Janie moved back to Miami, changed careers, and joined the American Red Cross. She worked on the piers and witnessed the thousands of troops returning from the North African campaigns – a sight kept very quiet from the public because of the number of casualties. In a move to Charleston, SC Janie would continue her Red Cross work by researching the status of soldiers for concerned families and working with unwed mothers. She was granted a scholarship by the Southeast Regional Chapter of the American Red Cross to attend graduate school at Tulane University in New Orleans, and upon successfully completing her graduate certificate in Social Work Janie returned to Charleston until the end of the war. Janie then returned to Miami and reunited with three girlfriends and looking for new opportunities they packed all their belongings into a convertible and drove across country to begin a new life in California. She found herself selling tools in the remote hill areas of California until the Aviation Cadet, now an aeronautical engineering college student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, traveled in December 1947 and proposed! A week later they had married and without a winter coat to her name, Janie and her husband, William Burlingame Sander, travelled in a country-wide snowstorm via Wichita, Kansas and New York City to their home in Troy, NY. In 1949 Janie & Bill moved to Seattle, WA – Janie teaching Bill how to drive a car along the way as he had been a P-38 pilot, but never learned to drive a car! Bill began his 38 year career with The Boeing Company and they would spend the rest of their lives in the Burien / Des Moines area.
Janie pursued her biology and botany interests by becoming the Garden Club President of their neighborhood which allowed her to learn the native plants of the Northwest – wearing socks summer and winter; she claimed never to be warm in the Pacific Northwest! She became counselor and friend to the neighbor children and families – she listened and guided without judgment or prejudice. She found fulfillment and personal gratification as a volunteer at Highline Community Hospital now Highline Medical Center and would volunteer there for over 30 years, functioning for a few years as the Vice-President of the Hospital Volunteers. She helped her son rebuild a car engine, encouraged his drumming and bands in the ’60s, and helped her daughter on her sewing or craft projects. She would always encourage her children to do the best they could in anything they tried, maintain a positive outlook on life and acknowledge their blessings.
Janie and Bill, married for 52 years, found joy in traveling together and with family. After Bill’s retirement, cross country travel and cruises became a yearly event interspersed with volunteering, reading and gardening. Bill preceded her in death on April 2, 2000. Janie remained in her home in south Seattle and developed a strong bond with her son-in-law, Allen, as they ran errands and went to appointments. He brought comfort and care to her throughout her Stage 3 Lung Cancer treatments in 2005 and in 2008, at the age of 88, a series of health issues mastectomy, broken foot and back forced her to move into assisted living where her wit, counsel and guidance continued to blossom – and was appreciated by family, friends and the wonderful caregivers, nurses and staff at Foundation House in Federal Way, Washington.
In 2009 Janie was able to build a relationship with her great-grandchildren during their first visit to Seattle. In January 2011 she celebrated her 90th birthday and appreciated getting to know her granddaughter, Kimberly, as a young adult. She also enjoyed continued visits with her niece, Wendy Pattison, who traveled from Florida for the birthday celebration. Janie was extremely tickled and marveled that so many of the neighborhood ‘children’ now in their 40s, 50s and 60s! returned to offer birthday wishes after so many years – a feeling of joy that would bring a smile throughout the last months of her life! She hoped she made a difference in peoples’ lives. Her family and friends know she did!
Janie is survived by a son Wm. Frederick Sander Rhonda of Houston, TX; a daughter Martha Jane Crandall Allen of Federal Way, WA; a grandson Christopher A. Sander Alicia and great-grandchildren Alyssa M. Sander, Caelynn R. Sander, and Isabella A. Sander of Tomball, TX; a grandson Wm. Andrew Sander of Dallas-Fort Worth, TX; a granddaughter Kimberly A. Sander of Houston, TX; a brother Charles Charlie Denmark Johnson of Tallahassee, FL; numerous nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Highline Medical Center Foundation, 16259 Sylvester Rd SW, Suite 101, Burien, WA 98166 Phone: 206-901-8500 or to the Franciscan Foundation Hospice, P.O. Box 1502, Tacoma, WA 98401-1502 Phone: 253-428-8411.