Janet Graham

Janet Fletcher Graham, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and sister, passed away unexpectedly in her sleep on February 13, 2018 in Overland Park, Kansas.

Janet was born in Kansas City, Missouri on May 29, 1951, the oldest of three children of the late John and Betsey Fletcher.  She grew up in Prairie Village, Kansas and attended Shawnee Mission East High School.  She began college at Briarcliff College in New York and graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a degree in psychology in 1973.  Janet moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where she met her husband of 42 years, Alan Graham.  After several years in Boston and Harford, Connecticut, Janet and Alan moved back to the Kansas City area, where Janet worked as an officer at the First National Bank in Kansas City.  In 1980, she gave birth to her daughter, Amanda Graham Dresie.  For a time, Janet’s life focused on raising Amanda, who became an accomplished youth figure skater.  Consequently, Janet wholeheartedly jumped in to the figure skating world, eventually becoming a figure skating judge at competitions across the Midwest and active the Silver Blades Figure Skating Club of Kansas City.  Janet entered a new career later in life as a special education teacher at the Eugene Ware Elementary School in Kansas City, Kansas.  She went back to school to earn a degree in teaching from St. Mary’s and then a Masters in education from Kansas University in 2005.  She was a well-respected and loved teacher for 15 years at the Eugene Ware School before her retirement in 2017.

Janet will be remembered by her family and friends as a person of generous spirit and compassion for others.  She laughed a lot, and always made others laugh along with her.  She loved Rocky Mountain National Park, beginning with her time as a camper at Cheley Colorado Camps in Estes Park, and through her frequent family visits there.  She loved travel, the Kansas City Chiefs, Jimmy Buffet music, and most of all, Alan, Amanda and her grandchildren.

In addition to her husband Alan and her many friends, Janet leaves her daughter, Amanda Dresie (husband Jared), her brothers John Fletcher and Bob Fletcher (wife Lynn), her three grandchildren, Madalin, Annabel and Charlie Dresie, along with many cousins, nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will take place on Saturday, February 17, 2018, at 7 p.m., at Johnson County Funeral Chapel, 11200 Metcalf Avenue, Overland Park, Kansas 66210.  All are welcome.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the John Austin Cheley Foundation in Denver, Colorado (www.cheleyfoundation.org) and The Janet Graham Memorial Fund for Eugene Ware, through KCKPS Central Office, 2010 N. 59th Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66104 (note on contributions that it is for this specific fund).