Janet Maria Vellek

Janet M. Vellek (nee Pugliese), 83 of Port St. Lucie, Florida died on Friday, March 8, 2024. She is survived by her loving children, Michael Jr., and his wife Susan of Port St. Lucie; Kurt and his wife Patti of Carmel NY; and Anne-Marie Emmert and her husband Scott of Apex, NC. Her grandchildren will indeed miss their Nana: Mariah and her fiancée Connor Shanahan, Kirsten (Kiki) and her husband Daniel Kaminski, Carolyn, John and his wife Julia, William II (Will), Tom, Sydney, and Kylie. Janet leaves behind many nieces and nephews whom she loved very dearly as well.
Her parents Anthony and Lucille Pugliese died before her, as did her parents in law, Gustave Vellek and Mary Veronica Harper. She is also predeceased by her husband and best friend of 59 years Michael (Mike) Vellek Sr., her son William, and her sister Arline Straus.
Janet would introduce herself to you as Jan. Born in Manhattan NY, she worked at The Kollsman Instrument Corp. in Elmhurst, Queens. There she met her husband and lifetime partner; Jan and Mike were married in Elmhurst on September 9, 1961. They raised their family on Long Island where they made Huntington their home. Her cooking is the stuff of legend - family gathering at Holden Beach, NC would seek out their Aunt Jan for a hug, a catch-up story, and a plate of her meatballs and sausage with red sauce. After seeing her four children grow and begin their own families, she worked as a Coordinator with the Senior Center for the Town of Huntington. Jan and her family were active parishioners at Saint Francis of Assisi Church in Greenlawn, NY, where she could also be counted on to distribute the Eucharist to the homebound in town.
Later in life the Velleks moved to Port St. Lucie, where they made many new friends in their neighborhood and as volunteers at the St. Vincent de Paul Society. They also continued distributing the Eucharist at their parish home of Holy Family Church.
Jan's family wants to thank everyone for the outpouring of love, prayers, support, and kindness these past few months. We are especially grateful to the nurses, therapists and staff at Lawnwood Rehab and Treasure Coast Hospice for their exceptional care and the genuine love they showed Jan towards the end of her journey.
A memorial mass will take place on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at 1:00 pm at Holy Family Catholic Church, 2330 SE Mariposa Avenue, Port Saint Lucie, Florida.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Treasure Coast Hospice at https://www.treasurehealth.org/292/Donate.