Janet Katherine Jones Diehl

March 17, 1918 – January 6, 2013

On August 6, 1942, the New York Times headlined the picture of Janet Katherine Jones and U.S. Navy officer  Fahy Eugene Diehl, married the day before at Church of the Ascension, 5th Ave, NYC. Our nation at war needed that loving and patriotic image on display for all to see.
Janet Diehl died Sunday, January 6, 2013. She was born March 17, 1918, Corning, NY, youngest daughter of the Ingersoll Rand Chief Engineer J. William Jones and Hazle Robinson Jones. A graduate of Connecticut College for Women, New London, CT, Jan became an executive secretary at Ingersoll Rand Corp. There she met Gene Diehl, of Lowe Brothers Paint Co., who was to become her beloved husband of 60 years. 
Janet is survived by her daughter Joan Weller Diehl, of Nedrow, NY; sons James Gregory Diehl, of Skaneateles, NY, and Dudley Scott Diehl, of Chicago, IL. Her namesake and god-daughter, Janet Katherine Lane, resides in Switzerland. She was also ‘Mom’ to Khosrow (Joe) Kamali, an exchange student from Ahvaz, Iran.  Granny-Jan was very proud ofall five grandchildren and their spouses and her six great-grandchildren. Jan would faithfully correspond with family and friends; keeping all connected.  Siblings J. William Jones, Jr., Eleanor Lane and Mary Louise North predeceased her.
Following WWII, the Diehls settled in Brighton, NY, and in 1961 moved to Skaneateles, NY. In 1980, Jan and Gene retired to Danbury Drive, Sun City Center, FL, from their lakeside Skaneateles home. Commander Diehl became an EMT and 17-year member of the SCC Ambulance squad.  Janet, hearing-impaired from birth, volunteered 12 years teaching lip-reading throughout Hillsborough County and was on the Florida Board for the Hearing Impaired. Following Gene’s passing in 2002; she became a volunteer for C.A.R.E. (animal shelter), joined SCC Toastmasters, and became a Samaritan driver. A 30-year member of St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, Jan would visit the South Bay Hospital and Sun Terrace to deliver Sunday’s Bible readings and flowers to patients who were fellow Episcopalians.
Janet was an engaging person, always taking a sincere interest in others. An example was recently recounted by her beloved physician, Dr Donald Benke: Twenty Octobers ago, he told Jan how he had been working such long hours that he had no time to even pick up a pumpkin for his young children. The very next day, she arrived at his office door with a pumpkin for him to take home! Such a loving heart will only be lost if we forget to follow her example and express the compassion we feel for others around us, through not just words, but loving actions and deeds.
The family offers grateful thanks to all who cared for Janet in her last years. Gifts may be given to: C.A.R.E. Animal Shelter (1528 27th St SE, Ruskin, FL  33570), St. John the Divine Episcopal Church (1015 E Del Webb Blvd, Sun City Center, FL  33573), Fur Ever Sanctuary,14001 US 301 North, Parrish, FL 34219), or any charity which honors how you knew Jan Diehl.
A memorial service was held at St. John the Divine, Sun City Center, on January 11, 2013. Later this year, at Hope Cemetery, Corning, NY, Jan’s ashes will be laid to rest next to her husband, Gene, and their deceased infants, Fahy Eugene Diehl, Jr, (1943) and Alan Thomas Diehl (1944).