The Passing of Janice Kay (Schmidt) Everson

SALEM -Janice Kay (Schmidt) Everson, 63, of Salem, died at 11:25 a.m. Monday at her home. Jan succumbed after living with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome and loosing a courageous battle with Cancer.

Jan was a devoted wife. She spoke many times about how she felt her husband was a true gift from God in her life. She and Allen W. 'Butch' Everson were married on Dec. 14, 1991.

She was an animal lover and had three pets: Aries the bird, Kasey the cat, and Blue the fish. She loved gardening and spending time outdoors on her porch or in her yard. Jan was a great decorator and was also a personal financial wizard. She possessed a great sense of humor and was able to always find a reason to laugh. This is a trait she passed on to her children and she always enjoyed family gatherings when the house was full of laughter.

She loved traveling and going on cruises in the warmer climates. Jan had many lifelong friends who were dear to her. Her favorite desert was Moose Tracks ice cream which even in her last days she had the opportunity to enjoy.

Jan was born on Oct. 4, 1946 in Wellsville, Ohio to William Edward and Elsie (Johnson) Schmidt.

Jan has been a resident of the Salem area since 1992. She had previously resided in North Benton, Beloit, Sebring, Lisbon and Wellsville.

She has worked at various places over the years. She had worked the longest at A and J Mold Machines in Akron where she was the vice president and office manager of the company. She had also worked as a Mary Kay consultant, real estate broker with Oesch Reality, hearing aid technician at Miracle Ear in Boardman, HK Paper, and Carriage Hill (Fresh Mark) Foods.

She was a former member and volunteer of the Democratic party and formerly attended the Fellowship Baptist Church in Beloit.

In addition to her husband of Salem, she is survived by three children, William C. (Amy) Hurford of Beloit, Tina L. (Terry) Goynes of Austintown, and Christina M. (Frank) Grezlik of Hudson; three step children, Troyann Hobdy of Mobile, Ala., Valerie L. (Charles) Tonkin of Atwater, and Mark Allen Everson of Akron; a brother, Charles Kent (Janice Ann) Schmidt of Arthur, Ill.; ten grandchildren and one great grand child.

There will be a private family burial in Grandview Cemetery, Sebring, Ohio. The family will be holding a Celebration of Life gathering at 2 p.m. Dec.19, 2009 at the family home in Salem.

The family has requested to have memorial donations to be made to: 

Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association (RSDSA) 

99 Cherry Street 

Milford, CT.      06460 

( Please note on the donation: in Memory of Janice Everson.)

Arrangements were handled by the Arbaugh-Pearce-Greenisen Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Salem, Ohio.

Source 

Pain doesn't sideline determined animal lover

Pain doesn't sideline determined animal lover By Pamela Mcloughlin Staff New Haven Register

BETHANY - Judy Rettig's name has long been synonymous with animal rescue and care, first as animal control officer in West Haven, then for the Bethany, Orange and Woodbridge animal control district. But these days, although she still helps animals any way she can, Rettig's name has been attached to something less cheerful - a nerve disease that causes such debilitating pain its sufferers can lose the will to live. Rettig developed reflex sympathetic dystrophy, a chronic neurological syndrome which often appears after an injury or surgery, after she slipped on ice and broke a leg at the animal shelter. The strongest painkillers available do little to dull the pain. Rettig wears a special boot on her affected leg because even a bed sheet brushing across it is excruciating. The vibrations from a loud sound can send her reeling. "This disease is very complicated," Rettig said. "Every minute of my life, it's like my leg just broke. ...You learn to make friends with your pain." At one point Rettig became so discouraged, she considered giving up the fight. But the same determination that made her crawl into sewer pipes to free trapped dogs or carry a 90-pound Labrador retriever down a rescue ladder kicked in, and she went into fighting mode. On June 22, she joined the RSD team as part of the sixth annual Achilles Hope and Possibility 5-mile run/walk in New York City's Central Park. The event raises money for the Reflex Sympathethic Dystrophy Syndrome Association, headquartered in Milford. Unable to walk, Rettig made the journey in a wheelchair, pushed by her partner of 30 years, Christine Santoro, and other friends. They named Rettig's group, "Team Monk," after television's fictional detective, Adrian Monk. Monk's character has obsessive compulsive disorder, which acts as both a curse and a blessing, because while it creates barriers, it also helps him solve cases. Rettig is very organized, clean and particular, qualities revealed in the immaculate way she kept the shelters she managed, and her house at a time when she had more than a dozen dogs there. "It was really wonderful," Rettig said of the walk, noting that many participants were Iraq War vets with missing limbs. The event also included groups raising money for other causes. "When I look at life around me, I still feel very lucky," she said. James W. Broatch, executive director of RSDSA, said they had more participants than ever in this year's walk. Although the total has not yet been tallied, and donations are still coming in, Broatch said he hopes it raised at least $60,000, 90 percent of which will go directly to research. Participants, including RSD sufferers and their family and friends, came from as far away as Colorado and Florida. "It was a day filled with hope," Broatch said. Hope is what gets many people through RSD, an "under recognized disease," Broatch said. RSD affects between 200,000 and 1.2 million Americans. Rettig was replaced as animal control officer because there was no sign of her recovery, although RSD can go into remission. Because there is no cure for the disease, remission is her only hope. The disease or pain can travel to other limbs, and did in Rettig's case. Still young and driven to help animals as well as people, Rettig hopes someday to get a version of her old life back. There's nothing she'd rather be doing than chasing dogs and cats or helping rebuild areas of the nation affected by hurricanes, floods or other natural disasters, Rettig said. Donations for RSD research in Rettig's name can be sent to: RSDSA, P.O. Box 502, Milford, CT. 06460 or made by visiting the website, www.RSDS.org.