Janetta Lee Kelley, a beloved wife, mother, and grandmother,
passed away Saturday morning, Feb. 1, 2003, at the age of 70.
Janetta Lee Kelley, a beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, passed away Saturday morning, Feb. 1, 2003, at the age of 70.
Janetta was also one of Gilroy Unified’s most respected educators with 29 years of service as a physical education teacher and coach. Janetta lived an active life dedicated to her family, church, love of nature, and touched thousands of lives throughout her career.
Janetta was born into the Oklahoma dust bowl family of Tom and Pauline George on Aug. 9, 1932. She lived and worked on the family farm until the family moved to Grover, Texas where she graduated from high school in 1951. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to Portales, N.M. where she attended Eastern New Mexico University and graduated with a bachelor’s of science in education in 1955. In 1958 she married the love of her life, Avis Kelley, in Portales. Janetta taught at junior and senior high schools at Jal, N.M., Wasco and Handford, Calif. from 1956 through 1959. After moving to Gilroy in 1964, she left teaching to raise her children. She reentered teaching in 1967 at Brownell Junior High School in Gilroy. She transferred to South Valley Junior high in 1979 and remained there until her retirement in 1990. Janetta and her husband did a fair amount of traveling until her diagnosis of Alzheimer’s in 1993.
Janetta’s faith played an important part in her life. Soon after moving to Gilroy, she and her husband Avis joined the Gilroy Presbyterian Church where they nurtured their children’s faith and found a community connection. The friendships they made here were to last a life-time.
Janetta was a wonderful, loving wife and superb role model to her children and their close friends. Her strong presence in her family will certainly be missed. She is survived by her husband of 44 years Avis, three adoring children, Kalvin Kelley and fiancée Cynthia Lee of San Luis Obispo, Michon Kelley and fiancée Ed Schrenk of San Luis Obispo, Namra and her husband Ken Pourroy, and three grandchildren, Mitchell, Janeece and Kade Pourroy. She is also survived by her sister and husband Yvonna and John Goicovich and family from LaSelva Beach, and brother L.J. George and his wife Carmen and their family still living in Vinson, Okla.
She invested her life toward making a difference in the lives of many generations of our community’s youth. After graduating from college, Janetta spent the next 35 years coaching and counseling junior and senior high students. Many of these teams and individuals went on to win local, state and even national acclaim. Her caring and devotion to her students will have lasting effects in the lives of our community for generations to come.
Janetta had a zeal for life and its many adventures. She rarely lived a moment where she wasn’t planning, or pursuing her multitude of interests: reading, gardening, training horses, and taking daily walks with her dogs and any family members she could convince to come along. In addition, she loved to plan great summer vacations to ensure her family had quality time together. Her trips took her to camping spots through out the western United States, motor home trips across the United States, and the occasional trip overseas to include Europe, New Zealand and Australia.
Janetta was a woman of incredible strength of body, mind, and spirit. Her passion for living and loving touched thousands of lives over several generations. Although she will be greatly missed by her family and community, Janetta will continue to inspire through her memory. She is certain to be a pleasant addition to her heavenly home and coaching with the angels soon.
If you would like to make a donation in Janetta’s name, her family suggests the South Valley Junior High Girls Athletic Fund. Funeral Service will be held on Friday, Feb. 7 at 2:30 p.m. at Gilroy Presbyterian Church, 6000 Miller Ave., Gilroy. Visitation will begin on Friday at 8:30 a.m. at Habing Family Funeral Home.
