Janet 'Parker' Decker Obituary (1921

Janet Parker Decker, 89, died Tuesday, March 22, 2011, at her home in Coreys, NY. Born in Lowville, NY, on October 19, 1921, she was the daughter of Fay and Jessie (Blackmon) Parker. She married Alfred M. "Fritz" Decker on December 20, 1943, in Lowville. Janet graduated Valedictorian of her high school class at Lowville Academy in 1938. She attended the University of Rochester and graduated in 1942. She was at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, from 1944 to 1945. Janet first worked as Agent for Dependent Children in Lewis County, NY, and then for the Crippled Children's Society and Children's Aid Society in St. Louis, MO. She also volunteered as a nurses' aide during World War II. While raising her five children she served as Finance Chair of the North Country Girl Scout Council and was Regional Coordinator for the American Field Service. She helped place numerous foreign students with families in the area and also hosted an Italian exchange student, Umberto Merlo, in 1961. After completing a Masters Degree in Education at SUNY Plattsburgh, Janet was Assistant Professor of English at North Country Community College where she served as Chair of the Division of Developmental Studies. She traveled to China in 1982 and taught English at Nankai University in Tianjin. She loved the Adirondacks and was an active supporter of her community. Janet was a Saranac Lake Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year. In 2001, the Adirondack Museum awarded her the Harold K. Hochschild Award. She was on local, regional, and state library boards and received the "Outstanding Service to Libraries" award from the New York Library Association. She served as curator of the Adirondack Collection of the Saranac Lake Free Library for 15 years. She also designed and, with help from her husband, maintained the Herb Garden at the top of Main Street for the Village Improvement Society. After the tragic death of her son at age 34 she was co-trustee of the Charles B. Decker Memorial Scholarship Fund for Journalism. She is survived by four children-Jane Hopeman and her husband Jon, Anne Gaughan and her husband Thomas, John Decker and his wife Martha, Margaret Decker; eleven grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband, Dr. Alfred Decker, and their son Charles. Visitation will be held from 4 to 6PM Saturday, March 26th, at the Fortune-Keough Funeral Home in Saranac Lake. The funeral service will be at 3PM on Sunday at the Church of St. Luke the Beloved Physician. Following the service friends are invited to gather with the family in the Parish Hall. Friends wishing to remember Janet may make memorial contributions to the Saranac Lake Free Library or the Charles B. Decker Memorial Scholarship Fund (in care of the Adirondack Community Trust).