Janet Shea

Janet (who always preferred Jan) Shea was born on April 11, 1931, in St. Paul, Minnesota, to Donald and Marie Tibbetts. Her father was a dentist; her mother, a schoolteacher turned homemaker. Jan graduated from Central High School in 1949 and the University of Minnesota in 1953.

During summers in high school, Jan lived at the family cabin and worked at a soda fountain in Grand Marais, Minnesota, on the shores of Lake Superior. In college, she and her Delta Delta Delta sorority friends spent summers working at Glacier National Park, traveling there aboard the Great Northern Railway - adventures she fondly recalled all her life.

After graduating, Jan moved to California to live with her aunt and begin teaching elementary school. Her family, Presbyterian by faith, gently encouraged the move to discourage her from marrying her Catholic high school sweetheart.

Jan soon made her way to Laguna Beach, where she shared a house with other young teachers. At the Long Beach Naval Officers Club, she met Ensign J.G. George Walker. They married and moved to George's hometown of Danville, Illinois, where he worked with his father and brother at Walker Sales and Service, a family-owned hardware store.

Jan embraced small-town life, motherhood, and her love of creative, simple gourmet cooking. She and George raised three children - Greg, Julie, and Mark - and later looked back on these years with humor, referring to them as her own "Peyton Place."

In 1965, George accepted a regional sales position with Bolens, and the family relocated to Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. While George traveled frequently for work, Jan co-founded a preschool at the Unitarian Church West, pioneering a shift from custodial childcare to education focused on social and cognitive development - a reflection of her progressive spirit.

In 1968, she invited Father James Groppi, a leader in Milwaukee's civil rights movement, to speak at the church. The decision brought both admiration and controversy, revealing Jan's deep moral conviction and courage.

When George became CEO of Chaparral Snowmobiles in 1971, the family moved to Lookout Mountain in Golden, Colorado. Jan taught at West Jeff Preschool in Conifer, where innovative educational models were just taking shape. When Chaparral closed in 1973 amid the oil crisis and a collapsing market, the family relocated to Wheat Ridge - and soon after, Jan faced single parenthood.

With characteristic resolve, she went back to school, earning a master's degree in Special Education from the University of Northern Colorado. She went on to teach in Jefferson County at Ralston, Bergen Park, and Foothills Elementary Schools until her retirement in 1993. Her work touched countless children, long before "inclusive education" was widely recognized.

In 1977, Jan married the love of her life, Dan Shea, a sales manager with Stanley Aviation who shared her zest for learning, travel, and laughter. Their blended family included her three children - Greg, Julie, and Mark - and Dan's four: Cathy, Bob, Dedra, and Terry.

Over the next 35 years, Jan and Dan explored the world together - from Alaska and Hawaii to Greece, Ireland, Israel, Egypt, Australia, and beyond - often favoring chef-owned restaurants and cultural immersion over tourist itineraries. Among her favorite destinations were Santa Fe, Mazatlán's Los Arcos Hotel, and, on her final adventure at age 86, Cuba.

In the late 1970s, they purchased a shared condo in Blue River near Breckenridge, spending weekends in the mountains when not traveling. In the early 1980s, they built their dream adobe-style home overlooking Golden, driving twice to Mexico in their Ford Bronco to handpick tile for the floors and walls. After two decades, they downsized to a condo overlooking Golden High School, where they continued their active community life.

Jan loved volunteering - from selling tickets at the Golden History Park to greeting visitors at the Golden Visitors Center. She and Dan served beers at the Lions Club's Fourth of July celebration each summer and supported the Golden Fire Department, Golden History Museum, Foothills Art Center, the Holocaust Museum, and Doctors Without Borders. In 2011, they were honored guests at Golden's Buffalo Bill Days for their contributions to community spirit.

After Dan's passing in 2012, Jan continued to live independently in Golden. When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, the early signs of dementia became apparent. Her son moved from Hawaii to care for her, helping her fulfill her deepest wish - to remain in her home surrounded by familiar views, cherished friends, and love. With the compassionate support of her son, daughter-in-law, and Mount Evans Home Health Care & Hospice, Jan passed peacefully at home on Sunday, December 21, 2025 - the Winter Solstice.

Jan will be lovingly remembered by her seven children and six grandchildren. A celebration of her extraordinary life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Jan's memory to Mount Evans Home Health Care & Hospice, whose mission she deeply believed in: to care for all mountain residents regardless of their ability to pay, offering medical, palliative, and hospice care, grief counseling, respite support, and their Camp Comfort program for bereaved children (ages 6–12).

Donate to Mount Evans Home Health Care and Hospice