Janet Ann Wilkie

Janet Ann Wilkie (nee Guzzetta) of Ormond Beach, Florida, passed away peacefully at her home in the early hours of August 15th while under hospice care.

Born in Mt. Vernon, New York, Mrs. Wilkie lived a life of service and sacrifice. Upon graduation from secretarial school, she was employed as an executive assistant at the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency in Manhattan. On a blind date, she met David G. Wilkie, a cadet at West Point. They wed three days after he graduated and began a 20-year Army career that took them around the world and across the country. Her fourth child was born while her husband was in Vietnam, and she cared for five children by herself during his second tour there. They moved often, and Janet always made sure that each move was a fun adventure for her children.

Upon retirement, Janet and her husband made their home in San Diego, California and later Eagle River, Alaska. In 2004, they made their final move to Ormond Beach.

Throughout her journeys, Janet made it her life's mission to find the hurting and help them in any way she could. Sometimes that was financially, but more often than not it was as a listening ear and a wise voice. Even in her last days, as she lay infirmed, she would inquire as to the well-being of friends and relatives whom she knew were suffering. She knew everyone's struggles, even those of the man who ran the seafood department at her local Publix.

Quick-witted and optimistic, Janet treasured her Italian heritage. While small in stature, she was formidable and strong, and no one wanted to get on her bad side. She also treasured her Catholic faith, an inheritance she honored to the very end. She believed in the divine will of God and never feared passing on to the next life.

Janet is survived by her husband David, her children Dana Wilkie, of Ormond Beach, Cheryl Wilkie, of Anchorage, Alaska, David Wilkie, of Longwood, Florida, Pamela Speer, of Wasilla, Alaska, and Joy Countryman, of Palm Coast, Florida. She was also the proud grandmother and great-grandmother to many and had friends around the world.