Janet Migneault Otis

ROCHESTER - Janet Migneault Otis, 89, died Friday, Nov. 30, 2007 in Rochester. Born in Vermont, Janet grew up with four brothers in Lowville, and Burlington, Vt. She attended Alfred University for two years, and during World War II, worked as a civilian at several military bases in New England. In the late 1940s, she moved with her parents to a farm near Aurora, working at Wells College before moving to Rochester in the early 1950s. She was secretary to the director of the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester for many years, and later worked as an archivist. After retiring, Janet enjoyed trips to Europe and China. A few days a week, she continued to volunteer at the Memorial Art Gallery and the Strong Museum, where she had some lifelong friends; she was doing her volunteer work the day before she entered the hospital for the last time. She loved classical music as well as art. She played the piano, and at 89, she still remembered where she was and what she was doing when she first heard Greig#"s piano concerto, one of her favorite compositions. In recent years she had taken up the saxophone and resumed clarinet lessons, playing in Rochester"s New Horizons Band. At one point in her 80s, she was taking tap-dancing lessons. Despite hardships, including a broken pelvis (she slipped on the ice returning from band practice) and an episode of cancer in 2006, she had a gift for fully enjoying her life. A typical remark, when she learned that her cancer had returned, was that she still had so much she wanted to do. She remained independent, continuing to drive and care for herself until the end of her life. Her brothers all died before Janet, but she is survived by longtime family friends, Rod and Emily Rice; and by a number of nieces and nephews, to whom she was an endless source of recollections about family history going back almost a century, and an example of how one might live a simple, kind, and fulfilling life. There will be no calling hours and a funeral service will be held at the convenience of the family. The Shakelton Funeral Home in Aurora, are in charge of the arrangements. To send a message to the family, sign our guest book at www.auburnpub.com and click on obituaries.