Janet Nelson Pace passed away on Saturday, October 7, 2023, following a long and courageous battle with Parkinson’s disease, at the Meadows in Rutland, Vt. She was born on May 14, 1935, to Carl and Helen Nelson in Ludlow, Mass.
Janet was predeceased by her parents, Carl and Helen Nelson, and her brother, Carl Allan Nelson. She is survived by her husband, Ralph Pace; her three sons, Stephen, Jeffrey and Douglas; her granddaughter, Emilia; and her daughters-in-laws, Barbara Ohm and Veronica Jimenez.
She spent a quarter century living in Springfield, Mass. She attended Samuel Bowles Elementary School, Van Sickle Junior High School and Classical High School, where she was a constant honor student. Janet then attended the University of Massachusetts for two years, followed by three years at Columbia University while training to become a registered nurse at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, graduating with a BS with honors and an RN in 1957.
Upon graduation, Janet was associated with several San Francisco hospitals where, when not nursing, she managed to travel throughout the West. She and a group of friends loved camping in national parks. They visited virtually every park system west of the Mississippi.
On her return to the East, Janet began working for the Visiting Nurses in Holyoke, Mass., which was the beginning of her long association with public health care.
On July 8, 1961, she married Ralph Pace, also of Springfield. This marriage would continue for more than the next 62 years, involving three sons, Stephen, Jeffrey and Douglas, and many moves. Janet continued working in the public health sector with gradual involvement in management.
Janet managed to find time to attend graduate school at Pace University, where she earned her MA degree in public health care management.
Among the places she lived and worked were Boston, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Saudi Arabia. She managed to survive the societal restrictions in Saudi Arabia by learning Lebanese cooking and traveling to Beirut, the “Paris of the Middle East.”
Janet and Ralph decided to retire to Ludlow, Vt., purchasing a home there in 1996. Here Janet was involved in numerous local groups such as the garden club, Friends of the Library, Friends of Ludlow Auditorium, the United Church of Ludlow and quilting groups. It was this latter hobby that occupied much of her time and interest. She was honored by the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park for her quilting efforts. She also received a special award from FOLA, of which she was a founding member.
She enjoyed traveling, including a trip to Paris, a Danube River tour, a trip to Tuscany, a tour of Costa Rica, many trips to Canada, an extensive tour of Turkey, and trips to Greece, Mexico, Sweden and England. Janet loved to spend time with her remote sons in Utah, New Mexico and Southern California. She was especially anxious to see her granddaughter, Emilia. While the early days in Ludlow featured skiing at Okemo, a Canadian friendship started a 10-year annual ski trip to the Eastern Townships of Québec.
Janet dearly loved her home in Ludlow, especially its large front porch, where she enjoyed entertaining family and friends. While still a flatlander to Vermont, Ludlow was her home.
A memorial celebration is planned for November 18, 2023, at the United Church of Ludlow. At 10 a.m. there will be a visiting session followed by the service celebrating Janet’s life at 11 a.m. A buffet lunch will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, PO Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741.
Arrangements are under the direction of Clifford Funeral Home.
This article appears in Oct 11-17, 2023.