It’s always tough to lose someone as dynamic and funny as Janet. She had such a positive impact anytime we birded together, both in finding birds and keeping you honest (as any good Montanan should), but most importantly keeping things light hearted and fun. Janet and Shirley (Sturts) were very welcoming to me as I gained my footing in understanding the birds of our region after moving to the area more than 25 years ago for work. Without Janet, I would have never known about the remarkably good birding along Harvest Road, or some of the other productive spots out on the Rathdrum Prairie that are now included as part of a raptor survey route she helped design, a survey now entering its fourteenth (14th) year.

Rest in peace Janet, I hope your correctly recorded lists are full of wonderful new birds.

—Doug W.

Janet had a lively intelligence and a great sense of humor. She was a wonderful traveling companion and we had many memorable birding adventures together. On a Bonner County Century Count one year, we heard a catbird calling, but it turned out to be a feral kitten which Janet ended up adopting. "Catbird" had a great cat life under Janet's care.

Janet was a core member of CdA Audubon for two decades. Besides serving in officer roles, she contributed to the newsletter and website. I especially remember an excellent set of articles she researched and wrote on keeping a lawn attractive and ecologically friendly.

Janet was a straight-shooter and she made sure I kept my bird lists honest. On a Sandpoint field trip, we saw a dark-mantled gull which I marked down as a Western, but the photographs confirmed that Janet's opinion that it was more likely a Slaty-backed was correct (and it was a first state record!). So many memories; I miss her.

—Lisa H.

Simply put, Janet was amazing. She served as treasurer for all four of my campaigns and they involved hundreds of transactions, and she never made a mistake. and even went out door-knocking for me. She gave tirelessly of her time and skill for Audubon as well. I also enjoyed her letters to the editor. She was a strong and independent woman who lived life on her own terms.

—George S.

I remember Janet as one of the best members Coeur d’Alene Audubon has ever had.  She came into the Chapter in the 1990’s as the result of a survey that the Chapter sent out when I was President.  She was the only one who responded…she must have been looking for a cause she could support.  (It also showed that you shouldn’t judge a survey by the number of people who answer!)  After my term as President, I became Treasurer for years.  Treasurer is one of those many thankless jobs that people do to make an organization run smoothly.  When Janet finally took the job, I no longer worried whether it would be done right.  She had found her home.  As you can see from the other recollections of her, she did whatever needed to be done.

The chapter was actually founded by Susan Weller, who lived in Rose Lake at the time.  She had cobbled together a group of like-minded persons in that area and invited a U of Idaho professor to come and talk.  That was typical of Susan.  If she saw something that needed to be done, she would just do it.  My wife and I drove out from Coeur d’Alene just to hear this program.  I still remember it,  The program was about his study of boreal owls.  As good a start as that was, Susan realized that the club would not be a success unless it was in Coeur d’Alene.  The next meeting was in Coeur d’Alene, and the people from Rose Lake stayed long enough to get it going.  We filled out the necessary paperwork with the IRS and Audubon.  The rest is history.  By the way, one of those thankless jobs was Historian, which didn’t seem that important at first so no one did it after the first burst of exuberance.  However, I like to think that the CDA Chapter of Audubon has made this region a better place.  Many people have contributed to its continuing success.

—Ronn R.

Janet is someone that worked to make our world and this place better. I feel like being around her helped me be a better birder and she was a role model for working at the local level to make things better. She was smart, caring, hardworking, determined—I found her to be a force for birds and doing positive things.

— Pam G.

She was one of my first Coeur d’Alene Audubon friends. I didn’t get to spend as much time with her as I would have liked but was proud when she approved of me taking over the Mica Bay Survey. One more angel fledged.

— Ted S.

Janet worked in most areas of our club. By 1995 she was the Secretary of our club. She hosted dinners after the Christmas Bird Count. She participated in many field trips and was an excellent birder. She was a diligent Treasurer for our club for many years, served on the board, expedited our Hoodoo Bluebird Trail for many years by allowing us to use her ‘in-town’ porch. She was always there to say ‘yes.’

— Peggy A.

Janet was an active birder! She and member Roland Kraft performed the Indian Mountain Christmas Bird Count for years together. In the early years of this CBC, we compiled statistics at the Heikkila Family Home, located in Harrison at the base of Indian Mountain—Don Heikkila started the bird count in 1967. It moved to Janet’s home later on, where we always went for a pizza party and compilation. She was a good birding friend who gave me many records of birds she had seen.

— Shirley S.

Janet was a good birder; my memories are filled with the many field trips in which she participated. She was always meticulous in the work that she did for our club and was a very active member, contributing in so many ways. She was a lot of fun to bird with!

— Ed B.

Have a memory to share about Janet? Email us at contact@cdaaudubon.org.

Coeur d’Alene Press Obituary

Donations in Janet’s name to Coeur d’Alene Audubon can be made here — please use the “in honor of” checkbox so we may inform her family.