Janet was my best friend and lived across the street from me. She lived with her grandmother, her mom and her dad in a very sparse looking flat of a three-story apartment building. We would spend hours telling and sharing secrets and listening to "Eloise" our favorite storybook character. I will never forget her Christmas tree and her fish, and the excitement of being able to eat over at her house for dinner--I remember having hot dogs with ketchup and sliced tomatoes with tons of pepper, put on it by her mother. Janet's mother always dressed in a black leather jacket--something unusual for a woman in the fifties! After Janet's death, her grandmother, her mom and her father all died within two years of Janet's passing.
-- (Charlene Campanale, Friend)
The fire happened 9 years before I was born, so I never knew Janet, but she has always been a part of our family. Actually, Janet's parents did not die within 2 years of her death. Her father lived until 1990 and her mother was hospitalized after a nervous breakdown.
-- (Margaret Gasteier, Cousin)
I met Janet the summer before first grade. She lived down the street on Keystone Avenue in an upstairs flat. Our families became friends. We spent a lot of time together, sleeping over at each others homes, going to summer camp and on outings with our mothers. In late November, 1958, we went on a Christmas outing to Amblings Flowerland and our mom's said we could each buy one thing we wanted. Janet picked out a small nativity scene and insisted on it, which I thought was unusual because we usually picked out toys. Her parents placed the nativity scene on her grave that year. I always took comfort in believing she felt close to God at the time of her death. She was a tiny little red head with a sweet disposition. I've morned for her all my life.
-- (Loralei Saraniec, Friend)
My folks owned the house at 1118 N. Keystone and they rented the
upstairs to Janet & her folks. I remember her as being very quiet and
shy.
-- (Bob Ratkowski, Friend)
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