Janet (Jan) Louise Hall

It is with a sad heart we share the news that Janet (Jan) Louise Hall passed away on September 22, 2022.

Janet Louise Parsons was born in 1954 to Chesley and Helen Parsons in St John's, Newfoundland. Jan was a younger sister to Brenda and she soon had four more siblings, Ken, Greg, Rozalyn, and Leslie, by which time the family had moved to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Jan was so smart and talented, with a beautiful smile. She did well in school, played the piano, sang in the church choir, was fluent in French, volunteered at a School for the Deaf, and loved to sew her own clothes. In 1975/76, Jan and three of her girlfriends from school spent a university semester in Angers, France. She loved her time in Europe, where she also visited Italy, Austria, Germany, Spain, and Belgium. This trip was one of her favourite memories that she often talked about in later years. Jan graduated with a BA in Math from Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1976, but went on to work in the newly emerging IT field as a computer programmer.

Jan married Kevin Hall in 1983, and then tragedy struck when they were in a car accident on their honeymoon in Holland. Jan suffered a severe brain injury and was in a coma for six months. After several years of rehab in Halifax, Jan was relatively high functioning, and in 1988, she and Kevin were thrilled to welcome their daughter Sarah into the world.

Unfortunately, Jan struggled emotionally in the aftermath of her brain injury. In 1994 Jan moved from Dartmouth to Calgary where most of her siblings were living and were able to provide a larger support circle. Sadly, in 2010, Jan had a serious stroke after which she moved into Garrison Green long-term care, where she resided for the next 12 years.

After moving to Calgary, Jan was involved in horseback riding, sailing, swimming, exercise classes, painting, and pottery classes. She loved to read, sew, write stories and surf the Internet...always planning her next trip back to France. Jan especially treasured Sarah's annual summer visits, and after Sarah graduated from university in 2013 she moved from Dartmouth to Calgary to be closer to her mom. Sarah and her mom had almost ten years together in Calgary - birthdays, Christmases, lunch outings, Sunday dinners, walks by the lake, drives to the mountains, and Jan's favourite - going to Tim Horton's. Jan was there for Sarah and Richard's wedding celebration in 2018, and Jan just met her sweet baby granddaughter Cecilia, who was born in May 2022.

However, Jan's health had been declining significantly over the past few years and she peacefully passed away on September 22, 2022, in Calgary Alberta, surrounded by loving family and friends.

Jan was a beautiful, strong, sweet, funny, feisty, independent woman. She would squeal with delight when she saw you walking down the hall to visit with her. Her infectious smile would light up the room, and she would laugh at her own jokes to the point where she almost couldn't breathe. Jan loved having company, always asking the unit clerk who was coming to visit her that day, and she would be up and waiting at the front door by 6:00am. She never wanted to miss out on anything, but if she couldn't actually participate, Jan was happy to "supervise". Jan loved anything and everything about Paris. And everyone knew to give her Tim Horton's gift cards for her birthday, though back in the day, Cheesecake Cafe was a close second.

Jan was blessed to have so many loving friends around her. Jan's family is forever thankful to her companions, especially Louise Thomas who was with her for 12 years, as well as all her other companions over the years, and the staff at Garrison Green, all of whom were so patient, kind, and caring with Jan. It was always such a relief for the family to know she was in good hands.

Jan is survived by her daughter Sarah (Richard) Hall and their daughter Cecilia Sayat; and her siblings Brenda (Bob) Crann, Ken (Fran) Parsons, Greg (Fiona) Parsons, Rozalyn (Reynold) Allan, and Leslie (Steve) Moss.

The family will be hosting a casual gathering (with Tim Horton's coffee, of course!) to remember and celebrate the time we had with Jan. There is no formal program; friends are welcome to drop by between 1:00pm-3:00pm, Saturday, October 1, 2022, at the Lakeview United Church, (3023 63 Ave SW, Calgary).

If interested, in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Brain Injury Association of Nova Scotia.