Janet Ross Gainer

Janet Ross [Mercer] O'Brien Gainer, beloved mother, died October 20, 2021 at the age of 86 as the result of advanced Alzheimer's disease.
Janet was born during the Great Depression in Roseburg, Oregon where her father Robert worked for the U.S. Forest Service as an engineer while her mother Jessie worked as a schoolteacher.  As a young girl, Janet's extended Mercer-McLelland family spent many memorable summers at the Oregon Coast in the family's cozy Twin Rocks cabin.  Her father arrived on the weekend "Daddy Train" joining in the family beachside picnics, tending her grandmother's meticulous Victorian-styled garden, and Spring Lake swimming lessons.  After living in Coos Bay and Medford, Janet's family landed in Portland where she graduated from Jefferson High School in 1953.
Janet soon married and had four children.  She devoted her life to her family, friends, and home.  Her passion for beauty was expressed through her home and paintings.  She loved downhill skiing in Central Oregon, tennis, and sailing along the Columbia River and in the San Juan Islands.
Janet has passed joining her brother, parents, and one daughter, who all preceded her in death. She leaves behind two daughters and a son, four grandchildren, six great grandchildren, and an extended family of nieces, nephews and stepchildren.  In the last stage of her life, she was well cared for by loving caretakers for whom the family is most grateful.