Janet Reasoner

Janet Reasoner, beloved sister, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, passed away peacefully on January 20, 2026, at the age of 82.

Janet was born on July 16, 1943, in Los Angeles, CA, to the late James and Ione Buie. She is survived by her brother, John Buie; her children, Katherine Duenckel, Jeffrey Leach and his wife Lisa Shay, John Reasoner and his wife Shannon, and Russell Reasoner and his wife Melissa; her 18 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

She was a woman of diverse interests who excelled at a wide range of artistic pursuits, from stand-up comedy, to sculpture, woodworking, painting, knitting, crocheting, and writing. Her early career was in bookkeeping in California but when she was in her 50s and her children had grown up, she decided she wanted to travel around the country and pursue her passion of plein air painting. Rather than becoming an itinerant painter, she attended truck driving school to be paid to drive to interesting places and paint them. She followed that path for a few years, then was drawn to New York to be a devoted grandmother to the six Leach grandchildren. She also used that time to write four books, three about her truck driving adventures published under the pseudonym, “B.A. Driver” and the latest, Memorial Day, under her own name. We will miss her indomitable spirit, resilience, and sense of humor. When her health permitted, she was a dedicated volunteer at the Stanford Free Library in Stanfordville, New York.

A time for sharing memories and offering condolences will be on Saturday, January 24, from 11AM to 1PM at Peck & Peck Funeral Homes, 7749 S. Main Street, Pine Plains, NY. There will be a short prayer service at 1PM. Donations in Janet's memory may be made to the Stanfordville Library, at https://stanfordlibrary.org