Janet Mardean Mather

Sept. 18, 2021

Janet Mardean Mather (Hadley), 79, of Kent, Ohio, passed away unexpectedly and peacefully in her sleep Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. Janet was born Nov. 22, 1941, in Marietta, Ohio, to John Edward and Bess Blair Hadley. She grew up in Fredericktown, Ohio, graduating from Fredericktown High School in 1959. Janet graduated from Kent State University, where she met her future husband, Robert James Mather. They were married in Kent, Ohio, June 19, 1965. Janet taught school in Ohio, Iowa and Pennsylvania, and retired from the Allegheny County Department of Human Services in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Janet was a member of the United Methodist Church in Stow, Ohio, the P.E.O. International Sisterhood, Gamma Phi Beta social sorority, and Phi Kappa Phi honorary fraternity. She was an active volunteer with programs to benefit people; as a result of her work in the Food Pantry at her church, she and a friend facilitated the founding of Bulldog Bags, Inc., a weekend food program for children on the Stow-Munroe Falls City School District who are on the Free and Reduced Meal Program. Janet also volunteered with the Retired Senior Volunteer Program in the Medications Assistance Program and was instrumental in the founding of the Fredericktown High School Alumni Association’s Permanent Endowment to fund scholarships for FHS graduates.

Janet was preceded in death by her parents. Surviving is her husband of 56 years, Bob Mather; her two daughters, Stacia Kaschak (Michael) of Kent, Ohio, and Kristin Caldarella (Anthony) of Sea Bright, N.J.; her grandchildren, Lydia Grace Kaschak, Thomas James Kaschak and Jake Robert Caldarella; her brother-in-law, George Mather (Kathy) of Salisbury, Md.; niece, Mary Lynn Mather Stavely; nephews, Christopher and Zachary Mather; great-nephews, great-nieces, and many cousins. Janet will be dearly missed by her family and her longtime friends that she made in each of the places where she lived.

In lieu of flowers, gifts in memory of Janet Mather can be sent to either of the following: FHS Alumni Scholarship Fund, C/O Knox County Community Foundation, 101 E. Gambier St., Mt. Vernon, OH 43050 or Bulldog Bags, Inc., P. O. Box 1475, Stow, OH 44224.

A memorial service will begin at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 26 at The United Methodist Church of Stow, 4880 Fishcreek Road, Stow, Ohio. Link to virtual memorial service is https://youtu.be/lZZ5-sX0NxQ.