1930- 2023
Barbara Jans, beloved wife, mother, and friend, died peacefully at home on July 11, 2023.
Barbara and her sister, Helen, were raised in Reading, Pennsylvania by parents C. Raymond Smith and Elsie Ogden Smith. A stellar student, she received a bachelor’s degree summa cum laude in English from the University of Michigan. Her literature classes and work on the student newspaper kindled a life-long interest in the written word. She was a voracious reader who enjoyed both contemporary works and the classics.
While at Michigan, she met her husband, Jim. As she told it, “It was a French class and there weren’t many men. He was a mathematician. Very methodical. He dated every woman in the class but stopped when he met me. It’s a good thing he turned out to be a nice guy because I married him for his looks.”
After marrying in 1950, the two lived briefly in Columbus, Ohio and Princeton, New Jersey before settling in Seattle, where Jim was offered a position as math professor at the University of Washington. There they raised their two children, Lita and Phil.
In 1965, Barbara received her master’s degree in social work from the University of Washington. She worked with children in residential treatment at Ryther Child Center. She later worked as a grief counselor at Virginia Mason hospital.
Barbara, affectionately known as BJ, was physically active her entire life. A devoted yogini, skier, hiker, walker, gardener and secret Tina Turner wannabe, she is fondly remembered by family and friends skiing at Steven’s Pass and rollerblading the long hallway of her Shoreline home. She was beloved for her humor, perceptiveness, kindness, and sensitivity. She was an esteemed elder in her Seattle walking group.
Barbara is survived by her son Phil Jans (Gina) of Wenatchee, WA, son-in-law Steve Neuberger (Kate) of Ashland, OR, five grandchildren, Jesse (Kimberley) of Portland, OR, Greg (Stacey) of Roanoke, VA, Ingrid (Jon) of Minneapolis, MN, Madeline (Austin) of London, England, and Karen of Bellingham, WA. She is also survived by three great grandchildren, Atticus, Ignotus, and Alistair and by two nieces, Barbara Pook and Polly Pook.
She was preceded in death by her sister, Helen, husband, Jim, and daughter, Lita.
Contributions in Barbara’s memory may be made to Breast Cancer Research Foundation. https://www.bcrf.org/
A celebration of her life will be held at Aljoya Thornton Place, 450 NE 100th St., Seattle on Thursday, September 14th from 2:00 – 4:00pm.