Farewell

Dear friends and family,

This will be my final entry for the foreseeable future. I post a few pictures of Janet here as I add a few last thoughts. This one is of us at an awards ceremony a few years ago.

It has been a week since Janet’s death. Over the last few days I have been receiving remarkable messages from people who knew Janet. Janet had a wonderful personality and she immediately endeared herself to everyone who met her. The outpouring of grief has been amazing. Many people were stunned and deeply affected by Janet’s sudden passing. I have been reduced to tears many times as I have read your messages, emails, and letters. I wanted to get some of these up onto this blog site, but there are too many. I thank all of you who sent them and the messages mean a lot to me. I will try to respond privately to as many as I can over the next weeks and months.

Please feel free to contact me by letter, email, or telephone in the coming weeks and months. If you think of an anecdote about Janet that you’d like to share, let me know. I can also pass it along to GW and Aleta.

Did you know that Janet was studying to beocme a fitness instructor? She worked out regularly with GW at Gold's gym and with gerson at the NIST gym. She was studying how to teach fitness and how to get certified.

Also, I mentioned that she had a new artistic endeavor: making decorated flash computer drives (aka thumbnail drives). These could be worn as pendants. She alos made matching beaded chains. If you would like to get one of these as a momento, contact our son G.W. at george.w.quinn@nist.gov
Or contact me, and I can pass the message along. G.W. has several dozen of these that Janet was going to sell and he may get more made.

Sometime in the fall, the Kismet dancers (Janet's troupe) may organize a special show or benefit in Janet's memory.

The next photo shows the urn that contains Janet's cremated ashes. It is a beautiful hand made ceramic piece from a local artisan. It is fitting that a ceramist should be in a ceramic urn.

I finish by quoting a message that Dr. V. Sundar, one of Janet’s dental friends, sent to me on June 19. He said:

“There’s an old saying by the poet saint Kabir from India….
“‘When I was born, the world laughed, and I cried. May I live a life so that when I go, I would laugh, and the world cries.’”
I think Janet’s that kind of lady.”

God bless you all and thank you so very much for supporting Janet, GW, Aleta and me through this ordeal. In the beginning of this blog, I said that Janet drew strength knowing that so many of you were supporting her and were monitoring the blog daily. That was true right up to the end.

Goodbye Janet. You were so beautiful and we will love you forever.

george quinn, sr.

Sifting through memories

Dear friends,

Cindy and I sorted through more of Janet's dance belongings today.
The pictures show Janet's sewing room on the second floor of our house. I shot some photos to record its state at the very end. The sorting was slow as we pondered or remembered every trinket, special tape, or cherished veil. We even found more sets of zills tucked away here and there. I found several dental bridge sets and various projects Janet had done through the years. We found some magnificent artwork that she did in the mid to late 1970's as she dabbled with an art career.

George Walter and his girl friend Alanna came over and took the mighty Viking sewing machine that Janet used to make so many skirts and costumes. I bought it as a birthday gift for Janet years ago. Imagine my anxiety going into a sewing machine shop and trying to figure out what machine would be best! I chose well.

We found one of Janet's last projects: the decorated jump drive or decorated flash drive memory sticks that could be hung on a necklace chain like a pendant. Imagine that. You can wear a jump drive like a piece of jewelry. My son is going to pursue making these as a possible business activity.

On the door to her room, Janet had one of those little signs that you find to let people know whether someone is in or not. At midnight on Friday, Cindy and I found the sign as you see below.


So Janet, we love and miss you and may you dance forever...........

George and Cindy

Healing blog

I had never blogged before this one began but as soon as it did, I logged on and have every day and sometimes many times per day, since.   I have been buoyed and saddened as the weeks have gone by.  Lifted by comments and prayers left by George and family and friends of Janet and by Janet herself and very much saddened by the turn of events.   If it takes a village to care for someone and then later to grieve for someone, this blog is a village.   Thank you George and everyone else for writing, posting photos and keeping the spirit of Janet alive even now.  The photos are just beautiful and George's comments are a continued link to someone we have all loved.  

~Tamara

A Day to Unwind

Hello friends of our beloved Janet,

The pleasant smells of the many flowers that we received over the last few days waft through our house.

Last night and today were days of hugs and best wishes as family members bid farewell. My brother Jim left on late Thursday. Janet's sister Cindy and Aleta sorted through Janet's years of tapes, costumes, videos, CD's, canes, swords, veils, zills, and so forth. I looked for the original zills that I gave to Janet over 30 years ago that set her on her dance journey. I think that I found them, but I only found two. Cindy and Aleta assured me that such is the way of zills. They may start out as a set of 4, but often wind up as 3 or less! Aleta will take many items as will Cindy, but the Kismet dancers may be in for some treats.

I visited the church on Thursday and told Father Matthew that he had done a fine job with his sermon and there were many positive comments. Some even wanted copies of his sermon, but he does not write or record them. So trust your memories as to what he said about Janet's wisdom and science and her dancng and her love of fellow people.

I had a moment today when I yearned to hear Janet's voice. She had a very pleasant voice. I called her office telephone at NIST and listened to her recorded message.

Tonight I scanned through this blog to "hear" her voice through her written messages. You can "hear" her in the entries of
June 30th, "I'm Back"
July 1, "My first cancer drug starts today"
July 2nd "Better and Better"
and July 9, "Ups and Downs"

So brave and optimistic..................

good night
george sr.

A Memorial Day

Hello friends and family of Janet.
This is George, Sr. again on Wednesday evening.
The picture shows Janet in happier times in front of her stereomicroscope at the ADA Research lab.

Today we honored Janet's memory. Family and friends converged on Our Lady of the Visitation Parish in Darnestown, MD at 11:00 am. There were about 100 of you in the pews and you came from far and wide. I saw many friends that I had not seen in years. I even saw Dr. Pamela Zarick, who first detected that something was seriously wrong with Janet on June 1st and who monitored developments in Janet's sad case to the end.

Yes, the pianist played Ravel's Pavan for a Dead Princess as the prelude. I will forever associate that tune with Janet. Even now as I write this, its haunting strains echo in my mind.

Father Matthew Punchayil suggested that I choose bible passages that were relevant to Janet's life and career. For the first reading from the old testament, I chose and Aleta read a passage about Wisdom from the book of Sirach, chapter 14, verses 20-27:

The Search for Wisdom and Its Blessings
"Happy the man who meditates on wisdom, and reflects on knowldge,
Who ponders her ways in his heart, and understands her paths;
Who pursues her like a scout, and lies in wait at her entry way;
Who peeps through her windows, and listens at her doors;
Who encamps near her house, and fastens his tent pegs next to her walls;
Who pitches his tent beside her, and lives as her welcome neighbor;
Who builds his nest in her leafage, and lodges in her branches;
Who takes shelter with her from the heat,and dwells in her home."

We continued with this theme in the second reading, read by George Walter, from James, Chapter 3, versus 13-18:
True Wisdom
"Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show his works by a good life in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. Wisdom of this kind does not come down from above but is earthy, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exists, there is disorder and every foul practice. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure the peaceable gentile, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace."

The Gospel was from Matthew 5:1-12a
which was the section of the Beatitudes from the Sermon on The Mount.

Father Matthew Punchayil delivered a splendid sermon about Janet and the themes raised above. He did not know Janet, but on the basis of what I had told him, he came to realize what a wonderful person she was as wife, mother, scientist and artist – dancer. He spoke about wisdom from God and its connection to Janet’s engineering and scientific work. He noted that many in the church were Janet’s scientist friends and colleagues. He then commented on Janet’s artistic – Middle Eastern dance career, and the many attendees who came to bid farewell to Janet from that side. He said that there is a Lord of Dance in the Hindu religion.
He said that it was apparent that Janet had touched the lives of many people with her kindness and generosity. Although she lived what may seemed to have been a short time span of 58 years, she had lived life to the fullest and had accomplished a full lifespan of generous acts and good deeds and had done the Lord’s work. Many of the attendees, Roman Catholic or otherwise, were moved by his sermon. We were grateful that he had captured the essence of Janet’s contributions throughout her life. My family was deeply touched. I had requests for copies of the sermon. I will inquire, but I believe he delivered the sermon from memory alone.

At the conclusion of the Mass, I presented a short eulogy:
“I first saw Janet in 1969.
We were both mechanical engineering students at Northeastern University in Boston. She was so beautiful when I saw her in the big lecture halls, but I was too shy to say hello. Later, she came to work as a coop student where I worked,
so I did not miss this chance. How lucky I was to win the hand of such a wonderful person. I told her that she was the sunshine in my life.
I think that she brought sunshine into the hearts of many of you.

We were married in 1973 and graduated together as engineers.
For the next 35 years I was reserved and she was convivial. Her joy, inner and outer beauty captivated everyone that she met. She was a delightful and happy person who helped many others rise above their problems and think positively, especially those in her dance network.

She also was a strong, brave woman who looked forward and not back.
So over the last 7 weeks, during her great ordeal, I asked her how she could bear it. She said:
“I have lived a good life, I have few regrets, I did the things that I wanted to do, and I have many dear friends.”

So, we shall miss her dearly. She set a fine example that I hope will instill all of us to live better lives.
God bless you all."

I was remiss to not mention one aspect of her life: She was a Mensan.
Yes, she was one smart gal, but true to her character, she was very circumspect about mentioning this.

We had a fine reception in the church basement and I tried to greet every one of you. We had dozens of photos of Janet at various phases in her life from her college years when we first met, to our wedding, to the births of GW and Aleta, to college graduations including Janet's own PhD in 2000, as well as photos from her work at Watertown Arsenal and ADA-Paffenbarger Research Center. We also had a big selection from her dance activities and I even brought in one of her hand crafted costumes. Yes, she made most of her own costumes, bead by bead, jewel by jewel, sequin by sequin, strand by strand. It was amazing work and she loved doing it. The costumes were so beautiful and so well made. Nevertheless, she occasionally had fun buying some Eyptian ones too.
Many of you returned to work or your normal lives, and my famly drifted back to our residence. I was left with the task of bundling all the flowers into my convertable green Ford mustang. I had to lower the convertable roof to get them all in. I'm sorry to say that I did not take a picture. It must have been quite a sight: My driving with the top down in a funeral suit with flowers jutting out of the back and petals streaming away in every direction.

But before I departed the church, I had but one last task to perform. I had to fetch Janet's ashes. In all the hub bub of the day, I suspect that very few people took any pictures. At the last moment, I asked a departing friend of Janet's to shoot one solitary picture of me as I left the church with Janet urn.
Her spirit is in heaven, but I have her ashes. I will cherish her forever.

ADDENDA:
The church booklet did have a mistake on the cover. Janet was listed as having been born on 23 July 1950. It was actually 23 June 1950. Sadly, she did celebrate her 58th birthday inside Holy Cross hospital and pictures from that occasion are in the blog below.

Bye Janet! I miss you.

Hi all,

I would like to contribute some efforts to this blog. I have been very sad since her departure Saturday. I miss her kindness and smiles, she was a very nice person and she made you feel very warm while talking to her.

I had a chance to photograph her dancing two years in San Francisco. I would like to share these pictures with all of you. You can download them by clicking the pictures.

My prayers are with Janet and her family.


Sam Liao

ps. -Thank you George for your nice words, I am really appreciated.
-I am so sorry that I couldn't make it to Maryland Wednesday.
-Happy Birthday! Aleta

The End is Near

Well my friends,

it is 11:40 pm the eve of Janet's funeral. The hustle and bustle of the day has subdued to a serene stillness as many of Janet's family who have come from far and wide have rested their heads on beds, couches and sleeping bags. I am the last one awake, much like many of the nights over the last 2 months.

How so many times in these evenings I worried about the day's events or the prospects for the next day. Tonight, I have only one last task to do. I will write a short eulogy. In one sense it will be easy since my heart is full of things to say. It will be hard since I am not eloquent. Maybe I should simply paraphrase many of the wonderful things that you have told me or written to me the last few days. I hope that I can get past the first line.

They have agreed to play Ravel's Pavan for a Dead Princess. A musician will play it as the prelude while we are seating. Please let me and Janet's mother bask alone in its soothing harmonies as we sit at the front. My friends and family will usher you to your pews.

I hope that many of you saw the Washington Post death notice on Tuesday. We had Sam Liao's color photo in it.

Aleta and I will prepare a longer obituary story for later this or next week.

And a belated Happy Birthday to Aleta on Monday the 21st, her 25th birthday. She reminds many of us of her mother.

God bless you all. your devoted friend george sr.

a smiling janet with some of her students at rakasa. i just found this picture and wanted to share it with everyone. we will all miss her very much but we all appreciate everything she has done for us and all the amazing moves she has taught us! she will live on through each and every belly dance move she has taught us all.

Brad and I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to Janet's family and friends and our personal gratitude to Janet for touching our lives as she touched so many here! She was truly a special person. My personal experience with Janet is that she was always supportive & encouraging of my dance journey from the first time that I met her. I remember not too long ago seeing her with a friend having dinner at Memsahib on a night I was dancing there. It was a particularly slow night, and it felt so good to see her friendly face in the audience! She was always supportive of musicians and an advocate of dancing with live music as well! I loved her performance at the last Tiraz convention and am so glad I was there to see it. Thank you thank you Janet for all of your kindness and for shining your light on us all!

We will miss you dearly!

Dear George
All your friends and professional colleagues from ASTM C28 extend their sincere condolences and deep sorrow on Janet's sudden and tragic passing.

Many of us knew her and remember her with great fondness for her kind and generous nature and with professional respect for her scientific achievements.

Our prayers are with you and your family in this time of sorrow and loss.

Steve Gonczy
C28 Chair