Jan VanBuren

With profound sadness, we announce Jan Van Buren passed through Heaven’s gate on Friday, September 19th, the day after her 54th wedding anniversary.

Russ (Gene) was the love of her life, and he took his wedding vows so seriously, that, when Jan became bedbound because of dementia, with the help of their daughters, Julie, Tracy, Kelly, their niece Stephanie and Hospice of Western Reserve caregivers, Jen and Lynn, he was able to care for Jan at home and was with her when she took her last breath.

Born March 26, 1952, Jan had such an interesting life. As a teen, she raced motorcycles (100 Baja

Harleys), where she was 1st in 15 of her 16 races, until a serious knee injury ended her racing career. She

later drove buses for the Buckeye Schools for 34 years. After retirement, she continued to gather with her

fellow drivers for weekly breakfasts at Aunt Judy’s.

Crafty? Jan started painting with TriChem Paints and let her imagination go wild. She created beautiful

projects on slate, mailboxes, saws and wood that are still enjoyed by many families and friends today.

She had no fear of grabbing a jigsaw or circular saw to create her beautiful projects.

She kept Russ on his toes from the day she met him. She was a quiet woman, but when she got that

little smirk, and you heard that little “tee hee”, you knew she had something up her sleeve. She made life

interesting for Russ.

Family was everything to Jan. She was “Mom” to Julie (Dave), Tracy (Jon) and Kelly (Chris). She was

“Nina” to grandkids Josh (Hailey), Peyton, Rachel (Jacob), David, Katlyn, Connor and Reagan and her four

great grandkids Brayden, Kaelum, Lyndon and Blayke. She rarely missed any sporting events, parties or

recognitions. Nina’s French Toast or Toast & Cheese was loved by all who knew her. Her love extended

to her siblings and in-laws who were blessed to have Jan in their lives. Everyone looked forward to the

pool summers and the Van Buren family picnics and Christmas Eve at Russ and Jan’s house.

She was a wife, daughter, sister, Mom, Nina and friend to so many. We will miss her so very much, but

she left us with so many wonderful memories. By the way she lived her life, she taught so many lessons

about what it was to be a good person, a good parent and a good friend. She will live on in the stories

we tell and the way we live our lives because of her example.

Services to celebrate her life will be held at a future date.  Memorial contributions can be made in her name to Hospice of the Western Reserve, 

1166 Lake Avenue, Ashtabula, Ohio 44004.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Jan VanBuren, please visit our floral store.