Janet K. Slater

SLATER, Janet K.
Kalamazoo, MI
Janet was born on December 22, 1950 in Alma, MI to Phil and Erma Stone. She spoke often of her early childhood up north playing with all of her cousins at family get togethers while the grownups played cards out on the porch. She was always something of a country girl at heart, loving its openness where she could have a garden and smell the fresh country air. When the family moved to Lansing Janet was only six. They lived at 1038 Morgan St., close enough for her to walk to all the schools she attended. She graduated from Lansing Eastern High School in 1969, and chose to attend U. of M. because, one, it got her out of Lansing and two, it was very liberal and that's what she wanted back then as a political science major. She thought she would eventually go into politics but that would all change in time. During this period, she worked as a legal secretary and a secretary in the State House of Representatives which is where we met in September of 1971. I was a carpet cleaner just finishing up at state and she was working in order to go back to U. of M., she never did. We were married on September 1, 1972 and she took a job in the corporate world with PANAX Corporation. I taught special education at Beekman Training Center in Lansing and we, for a year, were house parents to seven special needs men who trained at Beekman. But in 1976 everything changed. God called me into the ministry and shortly thereafter, Janet accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. In a heartbeat, Janet was transformed from a liberal, feminist politician into a Christian wife and devoted mother who loved going to church, loved reading the Bible and loved God. Then, for some 20 years, she served on the board of the Delton Women's Center ministering to troubled women with the love and grace of Christ. For 18 years, she was Doster Church's secretary, serving the Lord and bringing so much kindness into so many lives.
This would be the most important thing she would want said in her obituary: Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Him. That was her confidence and her certain hope. Today, she is more alive in heaven then she ever could be here on Earth. Because of her faith, Janet possessed great joy and peace no matter what may come.
In 1979, the first of her other great loves was born, our son, Steven Philip on March 28 (m. Casey Norton); then our daughter, Emily Catherine on May 6, 1981 (m. Koji Murata); our second daughter Hannah Lynn on January 28, 1984 (m. Shahid Kahn). We also have two incredible grandsons in Japan, Miles (14) and Theloheous Murata. No blessing on earth even comes close to what our children and grandsons have meant to Janet.
Janet was preceded in death by her parents, Phil and Erma Stone; and her younger brother Marty who also succumbed to cancer in 2021. He too is greatly missed. Janet's sister Pat McWilliams and her husband Jack live in Tallahassee, FL. Her brother Ron Stone and his wife Judy live near Ithaca, MI. They and their families are all loved so much by all of us. A very special thanks goes to our sister-in-law, Janice Slater from Traverse City who, along with Dr. Stephen Dallas, carefully and lovingly did all they could to minister to Janet's every need. May god richly bless them both.
Janet's funeral service will be conducted on Saturday, August 19, 2023 11:00 AM at Delton Community Church. Pastor Mike McCrumb will officiate. Burial will take place on Monday, August 21, 2023 at 10:00 AM in North Star Cemetery in Ithaca, MI. Memorial donations to Hope Builders Ministries, 116 S. Dartmouth St., Kalamazoo, MI 49006. Please visit www.williamsgoresfuneral.com to share a memory or leave a condolence message for Janet's family.