In 1963 Janet Rothdeutsch was my 3rd grade teacher at St. Jane’s Catholic Elementary School in Easton, PA. This evening I got a whiff of Wind Song perfume and it brought me brought me right back to her and that time in my life. That’s the scent she wore. I thought she was so beautiful with her updo and fashionable clothes, as much as a 7 year old at that time can understand those things. So now I’m 67 years old with a lovely memory of someone who helped me on my journey in life.God bless you, my dear teacher.

My dear friend,
I am a little late in sending you a hello and to tell you that I am thinking of you.  Thought of you on our birthdays.  Missing our fun times together with the Ryans. Hope you are having a fantastic life in Heaven.  Miss you.

Dear Janet, I think of you always and how you loved to sit at your card table on your patio doing crossword puzzles, while smoking cigarettes!! Damn those things!! But that’s what you loved to do! Stay out of trouble up there in heaven. We all think of you often. I miss you.

Thinking of you on our same day birthday.  Happy Heavenly Birthday, dear Janet!  Missing you so much especially on this day!  Hope you are celebrating in Heaven. 
Your birthday friend,
Doris

Thinking of you today, Janet.  This year went by so very fast. It is hard for me to believe that you are gone one year already.  Rest in Peace, my dear friend. 
Your birthday buddy,
Doris

To my dearest friend. I think of you and miss you. You have been on my mind everyday this month because I knew this day was coming. Rest In Peace with the angles. I will see you soon.
Love
Kathy Matz

To my very missed dear friend. I thought about you all week knowing your birthday was coming. This will be the first time I won’t be sending you a very funny card with 2 old ladies acting out. So, happy birthday girlfriend!!!!!
Went to Wildwood Crest a couple of weeks ago. I kept thinking of you and the fun we had at 17/18 years of age. Made me very sad to know I couldn’t share the experience with you. I’ll miss you my friend forever. Forever!!!!!
Your pal forever
Kathy Matz

My heart goes out to you Susan, Jennifer and Patrick. It is hard for me to write this since I lost your Uncle Frank the love of my life just 6 months ago and I know what you are going through. They are together now and waiting for us. When the one you love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure.

I don’t know Janet or her family I just know what it feels like to lose a mother.I pray for you all to have peace and happiness in your life.The holidays are tough to get thru just remember your mother is always with you all.
God Bless

Janet Rothdeutsch came into the lives of the Ryan family when she started going out with our brother, Ed Ryan. My impressions of Janet tumble out into a portrait of a beautiful young woman, snazzy and savvy. I can see her arriving at our house in her Corvair, dressed like she stepped off a page from Mademoiselle. That was the first picture, but it was immediately followed by an awareness of her gentleness and a kind of wonder she revealed. Her curiosity could always outrun her sense of reserve, thankfully, because in our family there was plenty to be curious about. When Janet Rothdeutsch became Janet Ryan, in that moment she became a forever friend to each one of us, a bond that has always been firm and has brought the Ryan family more memories and joy than we could fully describe.
Her laughter, tongue-in-cheek remarks and her way of listening and keeping confidences was truly a gift. I’ve always been grateful that she came to us when she did, and that she stayed there, a formative influence and a true-blue friend. I cherish the memories of adventures with her (usually automotive) and escapades that left no doubt that a shrinking violet she was not. She was FUN in capital letters, the kind of fun that remains in your harder days when you need a memory to fall back on. Janet was proof that life is good. She was kind. Loyal. Smart. Brave. And mischievous. To Susan, Jennifer and Patrick: in your eyes and your lives I see those characteristics, do I ever! The wonder, the bravery, the humor, the smarts. You are blessed, the way your Mom always felt about being your Mom.
Thank you, Jansie. I’ll aways remember your frequent question, “Why are you guys doing that?” That was the beginning of a beautiful ride-along.

Susan, Jennifer and Patrick
I just watched this and I am so sad and yet I really loved the whole presentation. Oh, the memories it brought back! The one with my Mom and Dad reminded me of how Granddad would say "Janet, old girl!"
Our whole family just loved her. May she rest in peace with all of our families.

Jen, Susan, Patrick, and Ed... I am so sorry for the loss of your mom and wife. I've known Janet many years. Met her through my now sister-in-law Grace Ann Ryan Smith.  Janet was a lot of fun and I have fond memories at the Ryan house many years ago.  Another fact is that Janet and I shared the same birthday, September 7th.  I always looked forward to her email birthday cards she sent every year for many years.  I would send her one, too, but she always beat me to it. She was always first to send.  I used to tease her about that. The fact that she never let me send her one first!  Although I haven't seen her in a long time, I will always remember how nice she was and the fun we used to have with the Ryan girls.  May she rest in peace. She will certainly be missed.

To the children of my best, closest and dearest friend my sincere condolences for the loss of your Mother. The dedication you guys had taking care of your mom was awesome. So cry, mourn and miss her more than words can say. Just know this you guys are the best kids ever.
And now for my friend Janet.! I was fortunate enough to have the means to visit you twice my friend since you got sick. I spent your birthday with you last year which was a blast for me. I hope you had as much fun as I did. The last time was 3 days before your passing. I’m so grateful to God that I was able to see you one last time. I said to you “save me a place in heaven. I’ll see you there “. We laughed together. We cried together. We had the best of times together. I will miss you forever. You are and always will be my best friend. I love you honey girl. Sleep in peace. Your friend forever. Kathy Matz

I have been friends with the Ryan children-Susan, Pat and in particular, Jennifer, for over twenty years. I remember going to lunch with Susan and Janet one afternoon a few years ago. They came to my house and before we left, we sat outside in the gazebo and chatted, Janet smoking a cigarette or two. She was honest, witty, engaging and had that very special quality of making you feel as if she had known you all your life. She will be missed by both family and friends and I consider myself lucky to have spent that afternoon with her.

Janet and I were a thing in High School from the tenth grade until I left for the Navy. I always cherished this one memory. She and I, Jimmy Schafer and Agnes Pluchinsky (sorry Agnes if I got that wrong), Ronnie Dunstan and Kathy Yodzio went to our Junior Prom in a hearse. After the dance we drove to New York city and drove around all night contemplating whether we should go in some bar and have a few drinks. We chickened out. I remember janet's zipper broke on her dress and I was a bit concerned about possible back lash from her Dad. All went well.

I have known Janet for about 20 years, shortly after I moved to California, and will miss her greatly. She was a wonderful friend and we laughed a lot together. She had helped me through a difficult time once when I was called out of the movie theater to assist my daughter in need. Janet left the movie theater with me and and never questioned it. My condolences go to her daughters, Jen and Susan, and to her son Patrick. She loved them very much. Janet will be missed by all who knew and loved her. Her wit, and her kindness was unending.

There are so many qualities that can be associated with the word friend, and I can honestly say my good friend Janet possessed them all: loyalty, honesty, generosity, kindness and a fun-loving spirit that always made it fun for those of us lucky enough to be called her friends.
I will always have fond memories of my friend Janet as I reflect back on all the good times we shared.  Our day trips to Pala Casino where we both hoped to strike it rich; although I must admit the penny slots were kinder to Janet than me. Our frequent excursions to local parks for walks in the outdoors, grand tours of the Christmas lights in Nellie Gail, and a trip to one of the scariest haunted houses I’ve ever visited. Janet and Toni marched through like brave soldiers; while i’m sure they heard my blood curdling screams through all of Mission Viejo. The times she would call or text to alert us to an upcoming blue moon, blood moon or eclipse. I recall the time we took our beach chairs to the green belt in pitch darkness to catch a glimpse of a meteor shower. These are just a few of the many memories I will always treasure.
Janet understood what it meant to be a real and true friend. She was always there for us when we needed a hand. I remember when I needed help assembling outdoor shelves for my patio- a daunting task that we fumbled our way through laughing the entire time. Janet and Toni were both there for me when my water heater broke and flooded my entire home. Her ability to calmly jump in and handle the situation helped keep me from totally unraveling.
I could go on an on about my dear friend Janet, but suffice it to say; I will miss her terribly.
Whenever I did what I could to support her during her illness; she would always say to me “you are my angel”. Well truth be told, she was my angel in so many ways.

I was blessed to have Janet as my neighbor for 14 years. Of all my neighbors, I was always closest to Janet.
We would always keep an eye on each other's homes when one of us was away. She loved her home and community, and was actively involved. Janet knew so many people in our community, and many of them would stop by to say hi if they saw her out on her patio working on her plants. She was my source of knowledge for so many things in our community.
My parents would come down to visit me often, and quickly made friends with Janet immediately. They soon realized that my father grew up in Pennsylvania not far from where Janet grew up, and just a few years apart.
So every time my parents came to visit, they looked forward to visiting with Janet as well. That's just the way she was. She was open, friendly, honest, and extremely witty. Everyone enjoyed visiting with her.
I will miss my dear friend and neighbor very much, but I am comforted knowing that part of Janet will always be here looking after her beloved home and neighborhood.

I feel like I won the lottery I had such a great Mom. She always encouraged me to follow my dreams and made me feel like I could do and be anything I wanted. She supported me even when I was making a decision she didn't believe in. I spent most of the last year and a half taking care of her and although it was the most difficult thing I have ever done I am soo thankful I got to spend that time with her. In the end she gave me the biggest gift in reminding me of all the important things in my life that were missing, and helped me to change my path.
I know it sounds cliche to say she handled herself with dignity and grace as her illness progressed. But she really did. She never complained. One of the side effects of her disease, and all the treatments was loss of vision and memory. Rather than complain she came up with solutions. For example to deal with her forgetfullness when leaving the house or going out on the patio there was a list of things she always needed to bring and she would count them out. 1.Glasses 2. Phone 3. Game 4. Magnifying glasses 5. Loop 6.Cigarettes (which was always a point of contention for me!). And She LOVED her word games and reading! She completely lost vision in her good eye and could barely see out of her other eye. This was one of the things that upset and scared her the most. So she could continue to play her word games Jenn and I got her large sized cross word puzzles and made the font on her phone larger. She would wear her glasses, with magnifying glasses over them, and then use a magnifying loop. It didn't matter if it was cold and raining outside.  She loved her patio and wanted to go outside and play her games!
I can't tell you how many times a day I go to pick up the phone to call and ask her how to spell something, or cook something, or share a story, or remind her that Bones or one of her favorite shows is on. 
I want to remember her as the vibrant, beautiful, fashionable kind women she was who fiercely loved her family, friends and her life. The talented artist who fought for her kids, loved country dancing, margaritas, going antiquing and yard sailing and lounging by the pool.  With her great skin, beautiful hands and flowing hair, always ready with a suggestion of something fun to do.  She was my dictionary, my therapist, my sounding board, the person I called for cooking guidance, the person I called when something good or something bad happened, the person I called to cry to and to share my good news. She was my friend. I will miss her everyday and my world will never be the same without my Mom.