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Janet Cox was blessed with a warm and tolerant heart. Honest and loyal to a fault, she accepted life's tragedies and triumphs with equal wisdom and grace. She was a loving and understanding wife to her husband, a dedicated and compassionate mother to her children, and a fun and indulgent grandmother to her grandchildren. She worked hard every day of her life and was full of energy and ideas. She was born Janet Quinn into a family of six in Ohio. Her father Robert worked for the railroad while her mother Ruth cared for her and her sister Lois and her brothers Bobby and Roger. After graduating from secretarial school, she went to work for the Treasury Department in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was in the Cincinnati area that she met her husband Kenneth. They were married on April 21, 1943 in Riverside, California just days before Kenneth shipped out to the Pacific where he served as a waist gunner for the Air Force. After the war, Janet followed her husband from base to base, working at various clerical jobs, before they finally returned to Ohio, where he worked as a carpenter after his discharge. Janet gave birth to two sons, Steve and Patrick and a daughter, Darlene, before the family moved to Albuquerque, N.M. in 1952. In Albuquerque, Janet gave birth to her third son, Michael. She worked for Sandia Corporation, and local judges, as well as the Retarded Citizens Association before taking a position with the University of New Mexico Law School in 1967, where she would work for the next 38 years. She worked as an administrative assistant and den mother to countless law students and professors. In 1979, she moved with her husband, her daughter Darlene and her son Patrick to a 10 acre spread in the east mountains in the little community of Yrissari, where she could raise the animals she loved so much. She cared for her mother Ruth until her death at the age of 99 in 1999; her husband Kenneth passed away in 2001. Janet passed away peacefully on July 4, 2006 in her Yrissari home, in a room built by her husband, with three of her children by her side. Janet's life was always filled with animals: she was a successful dog and goat breeder, having won Breeder of the Year over a number of years for her goats. She had a wide variety of pets and animals over the years including dogs, cats, rabbits, flying squirrels, monkeys, birds, sheep, turkeys, mice, rats, lizards, and numerous tropical fish. She was an avid knitter and seamstress and was renowned for her pies. Janet once said that she had reached her life's goal of raising her four children. "I am proud of my kids." She is survived by her son Steve, his wife Julie; and her granddaughter Tracy, of Phoenix, Arizona; her son Patrick and her daughter Darlene, both of Yrissari, New Mexico; and her son Michael, his wife Sharon; and her grandchildren, Eric, Becca, and Megan, all of Albuquerque, New Mexico; her brother Roger and his wife Betty, of Florida; and her two beloved dogs, Robbie and Maddie. Her memorial service will be held on Thursday, July 13, 2006, at 11:00 a.m. at the First Unitarian Church, 3701 Carlisle N.E.
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