Helen Janes Hill obituary

Helen Janes Hill Obituary

Rochester, Minnesota, United States

May 31, 1915 - October 01, 2016

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Helen Janes Hill obituary

Helen Janes Hill Obituary

May 31, 1915 - Oct 01, 2016

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Helen Viola (née Johnson) Janes Hill, of Rochester, passed away on Oct. 31, 2016, at Charter House in Rochester at the age of 101. Helen was born on May 31, 1915, on a farm near Webster, Minn., to John K. and Ingaborg Anna (Julseth) Johnson - first generation immigrants from Norway. She received her registered nursing degree from St. John's Hospital in Red Wing in 1936. She then worked for several years as an occupational nurse in an armament factory in Detroit and moved to Rochester in 1940. She worked as a nurse in radiology at the Mayo Clinic, where she met and married Dr. Joseph Mowat Janes, a recently discharged Royal Canadian Air Force Squadron Leader who was taking a fellowship in surgery at Mayo Clinic. They married on Dec. 5, 1945, in Northfield, Minn. Dr. Janes was asked to join the staff of Mayo Clinic in 1947 and they made Rochester their home. Dr. Janes passed away in 1983.  Helen was active in the community as a volunteer for various organizations, including the First Presbyterian Church (as a deacon), the YWCA, Boy Scouts of America and the Paraplegic Association of Rochester. She also enjoyed traveling, gardening and playing the organ. She was generous, gracious, and derived much satisfaction from hosting family reunions for her immense Norwegian family, as well as entertaining the Soviet and Norwegian National Hockey Teams and visiting nurses and doctors from around the world.  Well past middle age, and after Joe Janes' retirement from Mayo, she lived and worked in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada; Anchorage, Alaska, and then moved to a farm near Kenyon, where she and Joe burned wood for heat, generated electricity with one of the first, residential wind turbines in Minnesota, and tended a gigantic garden. She was both humble and sophisticated, and her life was rich and full. In November 1987, Helen married Charles E. Hill, former President of the Rochester Community College. Together, they enjoyed nearly three decades of life together - dancing, traveling and volunteering in the Chapel at Charter House. Helen is survived by her sons, Robert R. Janes (Priscilla Bickel Janes) of Canmore, Alberta, Canada; Peter C. Janes (Patricia Janes) of Breckenridge, Colo.; her daughter, Janet P. Janes of Minneapolis; seven grandchildren (Joseph, Erin, Peter, Erica, Taylor, Eric and Rebecca); five great-grandchildren (Kiran, Sula, Oakley, Natalia and Raphael); Charles Hill's daughters, Rebecca (Jevan Loshbough) and their child (Matthew Simpson); Sally (Bob Elliot) and their children (Amy, John and Aaron), and five great-grandchildren (Anna, Grace, Sarah, Faith and Rosie), as well as many cousins, nieces and nephews in Norway, the United States and Canada. She was predeceased by her oldest son, John Mark Janes (Mary Duffy Janes), her husbands, Joseph Janes and Charles Hill, and her 10 siblings. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Dec. 3 at Charter House in Rochester. In lieu of flowers, memorials are requested to the First Presbyterian Church, the Rochester Youth Hockey Association or the donor's choice.
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