Janet Marshall Julian, loving wife, mother, grandmother, teacher and friend, passed away suddenly this morning. We are all in shock right now, but dealing well. God is good and comforting always. It helps to know that Janet is now with her Lord Jesus and partying with Him and her parents (and mine). That made my kids smile.
In this age of technology, word of her passing spread very quickly. The outpouring of love from friends and family all over the world via email, Facebook, etc has been tremendous. Thank you all for your kind words and prayers. Having taught for 30 years in this area, it's hard to find someone who DOESN'T know Janet and who HASN'T been touched by her. Just last night, while I was working at Gwinnett Stadium, I met a man whose son just graduated and had Janet as a teacher. I also have friends from my job at Perimeter Church who know her or have married people that were her students. (We always say the Julians are the center of the universe. Just about everyone knows them!) What a blessing to hear how Janet has touched so many lives.
For me, she was a mom. Having lost my mom to cancer 8 years ago, Janet was the only mother figure I had left. I am one of 4 daughters-in-law, but she always made me feel special. Not a visit went by that she didn't tell me that she knew she couldn't replace my mom, but wanted to be a mom to me. I appreciated that. It helped me through a lot of difficult times.
To my kids, she was Grammy. Giver of money for good report cards and player of Sorry Sliders or Mr. Mouth or Dominoes. They loved going to her house. They cried when I told them the news. Zach, my 5 (soon to be 6) year old was the most hurt. After many tears, he turned to me and said, "Now I only have one grandparent left." (Amazing how smart kids are!) Joshua has been concerned about Grandaddy, wanting to make sure he is ok. (He is so compassionate!) And Elijah, noticing my tears, asked me what was wrong. When I told him I was sad, he came over and hugged my leg and said, "I so sorry, Mommy. I so sorry." Their energy and joy have helped today.
Steven is with his dad working out details. There is always so much to do when a loved one dies. It's almost like your body turns on the auto pilot and you go into "get things done" mode. (I've been there twice.) The problem with it is....what happens after all the services are over, everyone has said their goodbyes and friends and family go back to their daily lives? I love my husband dearly and am saddened for him at the loss of his mother. But I hurt more for Dave and the loss of his life companion. They would have celebrated 50 years of marriage in August. After being with someone day in and day out for so long, how do you go on without them? I thought the same thing when my mom died. I just can't imagine. Losing a parent is VERY hard. But losing a spouse has got to be 100 times harder, at least. I tear up and get a knot in my throat just typing this out now. Please keep the entire Julian family in your prayers, but especially Dave.
Janet, we love you. We will miss you. We are glad that we know where you are and who you are with. We look forward to seeing you again someday soon. Thank you for raising 3 great sons and 1 great daughter. Thank you for being a fantastic grammy to my kids (and the 9 others). You will always hold a special place in our hearts!
1 comment:
I hope you don't mind, I found you when I did a google search for Janet's obit. This is a beautiful post.
I went to DCA and had Janet as a teacher for 4th and 6th grades (I was in Janna's class)
Mrs. Julian scared me to death as a child (in a good way). I respected her and grew to love her so much later on as I gained an appreciation for how she helped me be a better student and person.
You are right, I feel for Mr. Julian right now.
Post a Comment