MILLBURY- Janet Loretta (Wood) Howard, age 79, died Tuesday, January 2, 2018 peacefully surrounded by her family. She was born in Worcester the daughter and only child of Stanley Earl and Loretta Cora (Guertin) Wood.
In 1961, Janet married the love of her life James Howard and they were married for 56 wonderful years. They enjoyed travelling to the more rugged and isolated places of Northern America and enjoyed all the beauty our abundant continent has to offer. They especially loved Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. They went bike riding in Acadia on several occasions. Some of their many adventures included white water rafting in Maine, hot air ballooning, dog sledding in Quebec and parasailing in Florida.
After moving from New York City in 1966, they bought a home on Braney Road in Millbury and have remained there to this day. In this home they raised their three children, Pamela (Howard) Martin of Wrentham, Patrick Howard of Leicester and Michael Howard of Millbury. Janet loved her 2 daughter in laws, Nicole (Pappas) Howard and Marie (Wasel) Howard like they were her own daughters. She leaves her 6 grandchildren, Cassidy (Howard) Hill and her husband Daniel, Robert Howard, Hannah Martin, Abigail Martin, James Martin and Skylar Howard. She also leaves her great granddaughter Adelyn Hill.
Janet graduated from the former Commerce High School in Worcester and continued on to Worcester School of Business Science. A year later she was hired by Pan American World Airway’s in New York City. She was proud to book passengers on the First Jet Flight from Idle Wild Airport New York to Orly Airport in Paris, France. She worked for them for six years. After raising her family, she worked at UMASS Memorial Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in Worcester, MA. She loved her job and loved her co-workers who became like family to her. In her retirement years, she enjoyed many of the activities and trips offered by the Millbury and Sutton Senior Centers. She also enjoyed playing Mahjong with her friends. She volunteered at Assumption Church with funerals. Janet was a funny, fearless, lively, personable and caring woman whose loss will be felt by many.
Janet’s Funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13th in Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 10 Water St. in Millbury. A calling hour will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. prior to the Mass, in the church. Entombment will be private at Notre Dame Mausoleum in Worcester. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to The ARC of Massachusetts (with Advocates for Autism of Massachusetts or AFAM on the memo line) to: AFAM c/o ARC of Massachusetts, 217 South Street, Waltham, MA 02453. In honor of her beloved grandson James.