Ann Vala

Ann Vala, a longtime resident of Harbor Springs, and owner, with her husband Bob, of Crow's Nest Restaurant and Catering, died on Thursday, the 18th of January 2024 at McLaren Northern Michigan Hospital in Petoskey when a cancer she had previously achieved remission from, returned with a vengeance, just before Christmas. She was 61 years old.
Born on March 28, 1962, in Pontiac, Ann was the daughter of Edward J. and Marcia Lee Pease Janoschka. Named after her paternal grandmother, Anna Janoschka, she grew up in Rochester and, as a ninth grader at Reuther Junior High School, she met and fell in love with Bob Vala a classmate, who was likewise smitten. Thus began a lifelong romance and partnership between two kindred spirits who shared big dreams.
Ann and Bob remained sweethearts through high school and continued studies at Northern Michigan University in Marquette. On May 17, 1985 the couple married at the First Congregational Church in Rochester, honeymooning at the National Restaurant Association's Food Show in Chicago because, second only to their dream of being together for the rest of their lives, they shared a dream of becoming restauranteurs in Northern Michigan.
They spent their first summer at the Vala family cottage on Grandview Beach on Mullett Lake, south of Topinabee, both working for Mike and Sue Redding at the Hack Ma Tack Restaurant on the Cheboygan River. They moved to upstate New York in 1986 where Bob studied at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park for eighteen months while Ann worked to support his studies. By 1987 they were both working at Stafford's The Pier in Harbor Springs. Their first son, John Emmet died in infancy in 1992. Ann and Bob were later blessed with two more sons, John Edward in 1996 and Robert Michael in 1999.
In 1995 a colleague, Dee Serva, took Ann and Bob to The Crow's Nest for the first time and told the owner Mike McElroy that Ann and Bob Vala would be the next owners of that establishment and that they would be great stewards of the reputation that eatery had earned since its founding in 1953; everyone was surprised and had a great laugh about this prediction. Two years later, in 1997 Ann and Bob began their adventure at Crow's Nest, Bob in the kitchen doing the cooking, Ann householding in their residence above, gardening for fresh vegetables, and welcoming their patrons out front as the enterprise became a destination for fine dining in the north. If Bob was the great chef, Ann was "the brains behind the operation" doing the purchasing and planning, the books and the banquets, expanding the operation to include catering and event planning – Salsa Sundays, Perch on the Porch, Feast of Seven Fishes, memorial dinners, and other special events.
Ann Vala was an easy woman to admire and love and was hospitable to all who entered her premises. Ann Vala, loved fiercely, thrived on challenge, rose to all the occasions of joy and heartbreak, sadness and success that life, marriage and parenthood routinely supply. Ann was a role model to her many nieces and nephews; she enjoyed teaching them the wonders of nature and the great outdoors to include fishing, skiing, hunting, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, and hiking. Many of these young family members were employed at the Crow's Nest and Ann was able to teach them about the satisfaction of hard work. Ann had so many interests and talents; in the words of her sister, Tina, she was "always busy just like Grandma J." Whether advocating for people with special needs, sewing for her family, gardening for the joy of gardening, flower arranging, painting, or baking tarts, pies, and cookies – what she called "pastry power." Ann was endlessly curious about others, a good listener, inclined towards warm welcome and a bountiful table.
Ann Vala brought her best self and her best efforts to her many endeavors. As much as she loved Michigan's out of doors, she loved the rich interior lives of her sons and her husband, and shared their dreams and hopes and wonders. She enjoyed annual vacations to Florida so that she could share the joy of Disney with her son John. She spent her Sundays sharing the joy of fishing with her son Robert. Mondays were often devoted to Bob; you might find two of them skiing at Nubs Nob, hunting at Wycamp, or just fishing on the bay. John, Robert, and Bob were her greatest joy. Ann trusted God to handle the big things while she took care of the rest – the family, the family business, the daily grind and household duties. In her resplendent company, no one went hungry or thirsty or unattended to.
In addition to Bob Vala, her, soulmate, life-partner and beloved husband of thirty-eight years, Ann is survived by her sons John and Robert (and fiancée, Rosario), her mother, Marcia Janoschka, and sisters, Tina May Boughner, Lisa (Randy) Whitaker, Polly Janoschka, a brother, Joseph (Ivette) Janoschka along with several nieces and nephews, her dear colleagues and employees at The Crow's Nest, and a wide circle of friends who join with Ann's family in mourning the death of an exceptionally fine, exemplary woman while giving thanks to God for the gift of her life among them. Ann was preceded in death by her father Edward and her brother William.
Ann will be sorely missed and long remembered by a wide circle of friends, family and customers.
The Stone Funeral Home in Petoskey assisted with Ann's cremation.
A service to remember and celebrate her remarkable life is planned for May 30th at Holy Childhood Church in Harbor Springs. Time TBD.
In lieu of flowers, please support Ann's passion and advocacy for loving adults with special needs in home-care settings by donating to The Ann Vala Memorial Fund c/o of Tim Knapp, Edward Jones Investments, PO Box 482, Harbor Springs, MI 49740 for the development of a special needs adult home-care setting in northern Michigan. Tim may be reached at 231.526.5366 or tim.knapp@edwardjones.com