Chantilly, VA

Alexandria, VA

Janet Maureen Sowers

janet sowers

 

Janet Maureen (Lay) Sowers   November 1959 – January 2025

Janet passed away peacefully on January 13, 2025 from complications related to diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.  She was under hospice care at Fair Oaks Hospital at the time.

Janet was born in Detroit, Michigan as the fourth child of Seward and Mary Lay.  She had five siblings in total: Mary Champagne, John Lay, Michael Lay, Patricia Woodbury, and Kathleen Wang, all of whom survive her.  Janet is also survived by her husband of nearly 14 years, Gary Sowers.

Janet graduated from Riverside High School in Dearborn Heights, Michigan and attended a nearby community college for two years.  She worked in a variety of professions throughout her life: making pizza at Little Caesars, a bank teller, owner of a cleaning service, and finally, as a massage therapist where she truly excelled.  Janet had a special talent for removing others’ pain through massage, cupping, and hot stone therapy.  It was through massage that she and Gary first met.  They fell in love with each other at that first massage session, which surprised them both.  From the very beginning, they felt that God was their matchmaker.  They married on May 14, 2011.

Throughout her life, Janet’s real joy came from being with children.  She enjoyed so much being with her many nieces and nephews, first and second cousins, neighborhood children, and any baby or young child in the room.  But her best role came when she could be the grandma for Gary’s grandchildren, Zene and Anna, since his first wife had died before their grandchildren were born.

Janet’s memorial service and interment are being held at Fairfax Presbyterian Church, 10723 Main Street, Fairfax, VA where she and Gary are members.  The service will take place Saturday January 25 at 11:00 a.m.  Interment of her ashes on the church property will follow the service.  A luncheon, open to all attendees, will then be held in the church’s Fellowship Hall where all can celebrate Janet’s life and support the family.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Fairfax Presbyterian Church may be made in memory of Janet through the church’s website at https://fairfaxpresbyterian.org.

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  1. May angels lead her in. Janet was always a kind and caring soul. I was blessed to have known her. Hug and love to the entire Lay family and all who loved her.
    ❤️Patty Mitchell & family

  2. Growing up in the 60’s, my family made the occasional trip to “Detroit” to visit Uncle Sew, Aunt Mary and “the cousins”. The visits revealed America to be a strange place where traffic lights needed pushbuttons to move off their flashing red/orange, and all the stores had unusual names — but happily would give me more money back in American change than I’d have received back home in Canada. In the following years our families struck on the idea of an exchange, where the Lays and the Brennans would meet at some diner about halfway between Toronto and Detroit. After lunch we’d swap seats, with some Brennans going to Detroit and some Lays coming to Toronto. I believe Janet made the Toronto trek twice, and I recall a conversation with her about how strange it was that we didn’t lock our house or car doors at night. Life happened after that, and our families wouldn’t see each other for years, when some of our mutual aunts and uncles passed away. I’m pretty sure it was Janet who noted that we needed to find a way to reconnect outside of those funerals. Not too long after that, I discovered that Amtrak’s Auto Train could cut 16 hours out of our annual drive to and from Florida, and that the station was close to Janet, Patty and Mary. Janet made reservations at the Silver Diner, which quickly became an annual tradition, a tradition often complemented when my mom would join us at a Langlois barbecue. Naturally, we made the drive to celebrate Janet’s and Gary’s wedding — my labelled glass coaster still adorns my desk at home. Sadly, time again caught up. My mom found long drives to the Etobicoke Outback too tiring. Our trips to Florida subsided with our daughter, Carolyn’s graduation (and subsequent move to Australia). Carolyn and I have a very happy memory of dinner at a TexMex restaurant substituting for a Silver Diner lunch on our return from Florida on Carolyn’s 21st birthday. Alas, years and finally lockdowns followed. We’re deeply saddened by Janet’s passing, and praying for her soul and for Gary. The seats at the Silver Diner will be quieter, but there’s an even stronger moment of quiet joy remembering it was Janet who helped fill them for those happier times. God Bless.


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