Janet L. Clark

Janet Louise Clark loved reading obituaries, and she wrote this one for herself.

Janet grew up at 906 West Auglaize Street in Wapakoneta, which made a great home for the family of five, then six.  Dad, known as EW or Eddie; Mom, Helen Marie; and siblings, Jerry (Terry), Judy (Mike Walter) and Joanie (Jeff Ketcham). The Clark kids thrived there as free-rangers, enjoying everything the riverbed had to offer, until they were ripped away to live at 520 South Rauthland, where new friends were made.

She was quirky, had a cutting-edge sarcastic wit, and a great love for anything leopard print LONG before it was popular. Some people just can't do leopard. Or big rings. Or giant earrings. She could, and she did, ALL the time.

Janet enjoyed much-loved teaching careers at Spencerville, Bath, and Wapakoneta from 1972-2008. She first taught for four years at Spencerville Middle School — cruising up SR198 in her “Lello Bi Bird” Cougar Xr 7 – driving by Ft. Amanda, with an endearing honk for Hugh.  She started teaching with the best class of kids ever. She loved them, her principal, the superintendent, and to this day — the Readmore Hallmark magazine lady, her Mister, and her little wrestler.

Then she was off to teach at Bath Elementary with her cousin, Dave, but after two years of that ‘long’ commute, she came home to Wapakoneta City Schools.  There she taught  special education at Northridge Elementary, where she met some real characters and made more lasting friendships with some of them.  She thanks you for being so entertaining over the years.  You know who you are.

Her years at the Wapakoneta Middle School turned out to be the best.  The elementary students from UL, Buckland, St. Joseph, Northridge and Centennial blended to become some of the greatest minds ever in her long teaching career, both in the classroom and as colleagues. She made time to read every journal, and respond as a teacher, mentor, and, most of all, a confidential friend.  She was only ‘written up’ once in her long career, and that was for the infamous ‘dirty’ work sheet that only some of her best students understood, even though the top administrators didn’t understand. Those who were there, know what she’s talking about.

She had loved, and had been loved, by good childhood friends here in Wapakoneta, like A L’ll L’ll, who, when old enough to drive, made every trip to and from the high school hilarious, as well as, precarious, in whatever bargain beater her dad had given her to drive.  She loved, and was loved, by her many Kent State friends, and by the best bleached blond college roommate ever.  She guarded, and defended, her 'By Appointment Only’ status to the very end.

She adored her sweet house on the Auglaize River on North Street. Thanks to those who gussied it up for a decent price, and burn in hell to those who ruined the meaning of it, and there was still so much to do. She’ll miss that house more than most of the people she ever met.  Enjoy all the cool stuff she found feathering her sweet little nest. And remember, it IS possible to enjoy both the OSU band AND Michigan.

In recent years, Janet delighted in filling her time with books, the Olympics, watching ice skating on Saturdays, and all that on-demand tv, along with time spent on the phone, Amazon, eBay, and Facebook. And finally, with Covid, came the Instacart, DoorDash, and Grubhub orders to prepare from her bed.  Those were quality-of -life saving changes for her.

To Facebook Friends and everyone whoever sat in her class—there were hundreds of times she wanted to come and have lunch with you, attend your event, or just see a movie or sit and chat at THE Ohio Bar, or share an evening in her Shangri La on North Street, but the damned polymyositis, and all its complications made it difficult to impossible to manage those meetups.

Janet was born in Lima, Ohio, on November 3, 1950, and left this life on December 21, 2023.  No services are planned at this time.  Donations in Janet’s memory would be greatly appreciated by the FFRC—Friends of Felines Rescue Center, 14597 Power Dam Rd, Defiance, OH  43512. The FFRC cat cams gave her hours of enjoyment, as did her friendships with the volunteers. Janet’s cremated remains will be cared for by Schlosser Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Wapakoneta, and Memorial Park Cemetery, Lima.

“Press 1 for English”