Janet Pearson

Janet Anita Pearson of Troy died at Kalispell Regional Medical Center on July 9, 2005, her 69th birthday, of a sudden, brief illness.

She was born on July 9, 1936, at Libby, to Randolph and Hope Perry.

Three years later her parents were divorced and Hope later married William C. Perry, the source of Janet's lifelong love for gardening.

As a teenager, Janet worked for her parents at Lincoln Theater and in the adjoining Candy Bar restaurant. She was also employed at Swansons Lodge.

She met Francis (Sonny) Pearson in 1954 and they soon married and settled in the Libby area.

Janet devoted herself to raising their family while Sonny worked for the railroad until he accepted a job with St. Regis Paper Company.

They moved back to Troy where Janet again worked at the Lincoln Theater. Several years and several children later she was hired as a custodian and cafeteria assistant for the Troy School District. She retired in 1998.

An avid collector of dolls, and pretty much everything else, Janet could be seen nearly every weekend scouring rummage sales and antique stores for treasures. She was a member of the VFW Women's Auxiliary and was a key coordinator of seasonal rummage sales at the Troy Methodist Church.

Janet and Sonny celebrated 50 years of marriage in 2004.

Also that year Janet welcomed home the remains of her brother Randolph Allen (Larry) Perry Jr., a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force who had been listed as missing in action for 33 years after being shot down in Vietnam.

Preceded in death by her parents, brother Larry and grandson Franklin Thompson, Janet is survived by her husband Sonny of Troy, sister Susan Jones of Grants Pass, Ore., brother Jim Perry of Fresno, Calif., children Anita Thompson, Woodburn, Ore., Debra Blystone, Troy, Tim Pearson, Hampton Roads, Va., Ken Pearson, Knappa, Ore., Mike Pearson, Battle Ground, Wash., Ray Pearson, Whitefish, and Perry Pearson, Alameda, Calif., 10 grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and lifelong friend Jean Meyer of Troy, who also rarely missed a rummage sale.

Visitation will be from 1-8 p.m. on Friday at the Nelson & Vial Funeral Home in Libby.

Graveside services will take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 16, at the Troy Cemetery.

A reception will follow at the Troy Senior Citizen Center.

Arrangements are under direction of the Nelson & Vial Funeral Home.