Janet Ann Mathis

Janet Ann Mathis (Jan to friends and family) died Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016, just two weeks shy of her 68th birthday. She completed her life surrounded by her family, peacefully resting in her home where she and her husband raised their two sons and welcomed so many friends. She leaves behind a legacy of being a passionate teacher, wonderful mother, and a gracious friend to all in her community. Jan was born in East Liverpool Ohio, the youngest of William and Helen Brokaw. She was loved as a sister, daughter, and friend who excelled in school and was voted the most funniest in high school. She continued her education at Marietta College, where she majored in biology, and minored in theology, while always making time to enjoy her friends, faith, and Janet Joplin’s music. After college, she moved out west to Arizona after immediately falling in love with the state’s beauty while visiting her aunt. Jan moved to Wickenburg and became a junior high school teacher where she began her 30 year long career and met her husband Tracy. She received her master’s degree at NAU. As the girls high school coach at Wickenburg she won two state titles back to back. In the Wickenburg school system she was the gifted coordinator for 10 years. In the late ‘80s the family moved to Colorado Springs and she was the dean of Blair College. Jan continued to remain an outspoken and loved member of every community her teaching career carried her. She honed young minds as a kindergarten teacher in Yarnell, pushed her biology students in Bagdad to fine tune their critical thinking and concluded her teaching career on the Hopi Reservation, passing on her love for gardening. She also participated in multiple community enriching programs such as the White Mountain Community Garden, and led as an example of how people can act as a change for the better. Her students will remember her as someone who introduced them to Catalina Island, coached them in sports and always encouraged them to continue to ask the question, “why?” Jan is survived by her husband, Tracy; sons Dirk (Laurel) and Dough (Stephanie); brothers Tom and William (Bill) Brokaw; her beloved grandsons, Conor and Trevor, who will always remember her as their rock in rough waters and for being nothing less than an awesome wife, mother, sister and grandma, In her later years, Janet developed a passion for gardening and sharing her love and knowledge with her community in Show Low. As well, she was the community forester for University of Arizona in the White Mountains of Arizona. Her surviving relatives encourage everyone to continue on her legacy by loving the community you call home, enjoy tending a garden of your own, and love all of the friends and family you hold near and dear to your heart. Remember her smile and she will never be forgotten. Jan’s memorial service will be held at 12 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, at the Calvary Baptist Church in Show Low.