Jan Therese Oswold

1957 - 2025

Olympia - Jan was born and spent most of her childhood in Seattle, Washington. She attended St. Catherine's Elementary School and Blanchet High School. In 1972 her family moved to Burlington, Washington, where she finished high school. Studying communications, she graduated from Western Washington University in Bellingham. Jan joined the Washington State Employment Security Department in 1981 as a Field Representative, helping individuals file their unemployment claims and navigate the system. She moved to the state capital in Olympia, Washington in 1990. Over the course of 39 years she rose through state government agencies and programs to a position of managing aspects of the implementation of new software systems and developing training. She retired from the state in January 2020.

Jan loved music. She played the guitar, sang at weddings and funerals, and performed with some friends in a band called The Crabby Chicks. Jan was a fan of female singer-songwriters and volunteered as a Program Manager at KAOS Radio at Evergreen State College from 2002 to 2007 hosting a show called "Sister Sound".

Food and art were often her gifts to family and friends, as she loved to cook, paint, and make cards and pottery. Her thoughtfulness and generosity of spirit naturally built her a large network of close friends who meant the world to her. Jan had dealt with liver disease for many years and succumbed to liver failure at Tacoma General Hospital on the evening of December 2nd.

She is survived by her wonderful son, Tobyn Smith and his partner, Liz Krause; her brother, Tom Oswold and his wife, Robin; and sister Joan Harris and her husband, Randy; her sister-in-law Kari Oswold; her sister, Katy Greve and her husband, Bill; and her sister, Kris Oswold. Jan was so proud of her many nieces and nephews, and she brought love and humor to all of us.

A funeral mass will be held at St. Charles Catholic Church in Burlington, WA at 11:00 a.m. on Friday 12/12/25. A reception will follow at the church. Please go to Kernfuneralhome.com to leave a memory of Jan or a thought for the family.