Kyra Janssen

Kyra O. Janssen died in Santa Rosa on August 5, 2025. She navigated the final phase of her life as she had others, courageously and on her own terms. She spoke often of her hope to "leave the world a better place for having been here," and she succeeded.

Kyra was born to Paul and Katherine Oppermann in 1937. With her sister Paula (Paula Goddard) they drove from the east coast to San Francisco in 1949. Family and the Bay Area served as foundations for the remainder of Kyra's life, through many moves and changes in family structure. (Decades later, her concise explanation for her divorce was, "Eleven addresses in 14 years.")

Her daughters Katherine (Katie Janssen) and Kristen (Kristen Friesen) knew they meant the world to her. She did her best to nurture, instruct, and inspire them, welcoming their friends, animals, and interests into homes in Philadelphia; Old Greenwich, CT; Washington, DC; and Mill Valley, CA. Later she likewise loved her sons-in-law and grandchildren: Katie's husband Ed Salaski and children Edward and Elizabeth, and Kristen's husband Bill Friesen and children Caitlin and Tirzah. Her extended family also included great-grandchildren, many cousins and nieces, and dear friends.

From the romance of proms (SF's Lowell High School Class of '54) to a picture-perfect 1958 wedding, through successful co-parenting despite a classic 1970's Marin divorce, to the comfort of friends-for-life phone calls in the 21st century, Kyra's relationship with Peter A. Janssen was central.

Kyra's strong grounding in family enabled her sense of adventure. She camped throughout CA and travelled the world; she drove her daughters on family roadtrips, and hosted grandchildren on Road Scholar adventures. She was intellectually curious throughout her life. She earned a BA from UC, Berkeley, where she was president of the Alpha Phi house. She later added two MA degrees. She was a dedicated tennis player, reader, and music lover.

Immersion in nature and the arts were aspects of Kyra's appreciation of beauty in the world. Her desire to inculcate these values in her children led to years of Sunday-dinner poetry readings, balanced by family celebrations involving silly costumes.

The reinventions of Kyra's professional life demonstrated one of her favorite mantras, "Crisis becomes opportunity." Education and health were throughlines: she taught at various levels, most recently in the ESL program at Santa Rosa Junior College. She relished opportunities to teach through the Fulbright program in the Czech Republic and in Ukraine. She also worked at UCSF in the 1970s and 80s.

Kyra was active in civic affairs, participating in organizations ranging from the Red Cross to Neighborhood Alliance; she took leadership roles in the Oaks at Fountaingrove HOA, among many others.

The 2017 Tubbs Fire brought another of her aphorisms, "You never know what's coming around the next corner," all too literally home. She appropriately viewed herself as a survivor, using the experience of losing her house to accelerate her transition to the community at Spring Lake Village.

In lieu of flowers, donating to the League of Women Voters, or enjoying nature or a poem would be a meaningful way to honor Kyra.

Katie and Kristen thank Yuliza Diaz-Ambriz for her thoughtful care in Kyra's final years.