Jan T. Katz

Jan will be missed. She brought so much energy and enthusiasm to gatherings. Her gifts were many. One of her best assets was her ability to listen to others. She was so talented at asking interesting questions in order to allow her to truly get to know people. Jan never met a stranger. Jan was an excellent salesperson and a gifted writer. Her jobs throughout her lifetime made use of these talents. Jan also was talented at making jewelry. She loved creating very artistic pieces, and when her friends encouraged her to begin selling her jewelry, she was so excited. She did sell some of her creations but insisted on giving many, many pieces to every one of her friends. As a group, Susan, Gina, Terri, and Gaye rallied around Jan to help her through the last year and a half of her life. They took her to doctor appointments, chemotherapy, emergency room visits, and hospice. She was effusive in her thanks and never took these gifts of time and love for granted. Jan loved to travel. During the last year and a half of her life, she traveled with her girlfriends to Carolina Beach, Perdido Key, Destin, and Hendersonville, North Carolina. She found such joy in visiting new places with her friends. Jan loved to take photographs and always had her camera with her. Jan's greatest joy in life was her son, Zachary Alexander Katz. He was the light of her life and she simply glowed whenever she talked about him, which was every day more than once a day. She adored Zach and reveled in his each and every accomplishment. Her friends heard endless football and baseball stories about Zach. We celebrated with her when he met his girlfriend. She was overjoyed with his close walk with Jesus. Zach was, simply put, the center of Jan's life and the main reason she fought cancer so hard. She wanted to spend more time with her son. Jan made friends wherever she went. The people of Tranquility Hospice were no exception. She immediately bonded with Elizabeth, the beautiful volunteer who played the harp for Jan. When her belongings were picked up after her passing, so many people there expressed what a joy she was and told how they had never met anyone like Jan. We have lost a bright light and a shining star with Jan's passing. Jan fought cancer with a vengeance, never giving up until the very end. There is so much gratitude that she is no longer in pain and is in a much better place. In lieu of flowers the family would suggest donations in Jan's memory to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.