On Sept. 24th, at 96 years old, Janet’s beautiful life came to a peaceful end in her sunny apartment, surrounded by her caretakers, with a lovely view of Mt. Tamalpais in the background. She was a life force to all who knew her, as she proudly proclaimed her independence and positive attitude even at the end.
Janet Kaplan was born in San Francisco’s Mt. Zion hospital and was the only child to Samuel Levite and Amelia Green but she was never lonely, living very close to her grandparents, aunts and uncles. Some of her closest friends dated back to her early years of local public schools and Sunday School at Congregation Sherith Israel where she would later be married. Her parents encouraged her to both study hard but to branch out physically into areas they had never been exposed to such as swimming, piano, drama and tennis all of which she continued for most of her life. As an 11th grader at George Washington High School, she sat next to Myron Kaplan in chemistry class and by graduation they knew that this would be it. She chose the small rural UC Davis campus for college and received her BS degree in Home Economics, which launched a lifelong interest and passion for food. Meanwhile, Kap joined the Navy during WWII and they were wed on June 27, 1948.
The GI bill allowed them to buy their first house in the new outer Sunset District where she worked part time in the food industry while Kap became a salesman for Gallo wine. When his territory was changed to Marin County, they, along with their 2 young daughters, moved to Larkspur and Kap eventually became a real estate agent in Sausalito. During their 15 years in Hillview Gardens her kitchen became a classroom where she taught “quick gourmet-style” cooking classes for women and candy making workshops for kids. It was also a test kitchen for her 2 self-published cookbooks “Crackers and Snackers”. They gardened, enjoying the large front and backyards the warm suburbs provided, swam at the local pool, and always took summer and winter vacations.
Family life was Janet’s focus, but she also made time for her friends playing Mahjong, visiting museums, and doing volunteer work in their local hospital, schools and synagogue. They were proud founding members of Temple Rodef Sholom and were fundraisers for its first building.
In 1969, as empty nesters, Janet and Kap decided on a lifestyle change and moved into their newly built duplex in Sausalito. Again, they added new friends to their ever growing group and now Janet learned to ride a bicycle at 40 years old so that she could join the couples’ weekend bike trips that Kap had eagerly engaged in. Although Janet had been the vacation planner up to this point Kap decided they should take an independent bike vacation to Europe, packing bikes onto the plane and carrying minimal clothes themselves. They returned ecstatic after their completely successful 7-day trip to the Cotswolds and went on two more trips to southern Germany and northern Italy. Being on the cutting edge summarizes their love and passion for each other, but sadly their 33-year-old marriage ended when Myron was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor and died in 1981.
Although devastated by his death, Janet at 52 years old, relied on her independent nature and competently carved out a new life for herself. Managing their property, volunteering at Hospice and the Sausalito visitors’ center kept her socially engaged with both old and new friends. Staying as busy as possible was her goal so she began working for a friend’s catering business once a week producing dozens of batches of different cookie varieties. Exercise classes, singles tennis, eating in new restaurants and driving into San Francisco to maintain her closeness to her grandchildren kept her busy and happy . And any opportunity to travel, especially to new places, she enthusiastically signed on to. From local driving trips with friends and taking grandchildren on summer trips to tours to every continent including countries such as Nepal, India, South Africa and Japan, she never lost the enthusiasm for new and different life experiences.
At 80 years old, once again ready for a life change, she moved into Villa Marin to be surrounded by a community of both old and new friends. Actively participating in play reading groups, teaching mahjong, joining the paddle tennis club, flower arranging, and chairing the birthday committee were new social experiences that kept her busy and energized. And she always made time to bake cookies as a way to show her love and appreciation. Generosity, an energetic exuberance for life, love and appreciation of family while always maintaining a positive outlook are the qualities she will be remembered for by all those who knew and loved her.
She is greatly missed by her two daughters Linda Mostovoy (Bob) and Nancy Kaplan Muir (Cameron), her three grandchildren Ben (Shannon), Camille, and Amelia (Sheena) and her great-grandchildren Levi, Charlotte, Beatrix, August, Linnea, Florence and Kaplan. Her 3 caretakers Daisy, Marlene and Josephine loved her as their mother and as independent as Janet was, she felt so happy and comforted by their presence. Donations in Janet’s memory could be made to: The Chronicle’s Season of Sharing, San Rafael City Schools and Congregation Rodef Sholom.
Author: gqlshare
https://www.marinij.com/obituaries/janet-kaplan-san-rafael-ca/