Jan was born Janet Irene Garnett on her father's birthday, January 22, 1936, in South Sioux City, Nebraska. A snowstorm raged outside, so she was born at home and the doctor couldn't get therein time. Not long after that storm, her Dad headed to sunny California to look for work – it was the Great Depression, you know. A few months later, her Mom left Nebraska on a five-day train trip to California, with baby Jan and her toddler brother, Don, in tow. (She was afraid if she waited too long her husband might change his mind and come back.) The family eventually settled in the Normal Heights neighborhood of San Diego. Jan graduated from John Adams Elementary, Woodrow Wilson Jr. High, and Herbert Hoover High School, where she was a star in the Hoover Choir. Her work career began at age 16 at the Pioneer Pharmacy in North Park, where she earned the nickname "Thumper," due to her habit of impatiently thumping the toes of one foot (while otherwise appearing totally calm) when dealing with a slow co-worker or indecisive customer. In her 20's Jan began a banking career, working 1st as a teller then in the accounting department of US National Bank. Around this time Jan reconnected with an old high school friend, George Thomas, who became her husband and the Great Love of her life. Throughout their years together, they did SCUBA diving, water skiing, sailing, power-boating, camping and dune buggies, as well as raising a beautiful family. In the late 1950's, they married, and a couple of years later, they moved to the San Fernando Valley with their baby son, Rusty. When her husband began his new career as an Optician (specializing in those "new-fangled" things called contact lenses), it allowed Jan to do the things she loved most, to stay home and become a full-time homemaker, wife, and mother to her children Rusty, George and Julie. Jan's talents were many. She was a great cook, an accomplished seamstress, a fully engaged Mom, and she could put together a complete VW bug engine in an afternoon. Jan's husband became seriously ill, and after several difficult years she was left a widow with three young children to raise. Her Christian faith was very important to her and helped her through these very difficult times. During her husband's illness, Jan encountered many skilled, kind and devoted medical personnel. This convinced Jan that she could make a difference by becoming a nurse. It was a difficult path for a mother with three children. Her intelligence, skills and determination kept her going until she achieved her goal. She received her Associate Degree from San Bernardino Valley College where she became a Registered Nurse. She quickly rose through the nursing ranks to become Director of Nursing at a large skilled nursing facility in San Bernardino. Several years later, after moving back to San Diego, she was Director of Nursing for many years at Magnolia Special Care in El Cajon. When her children were in their teens, Jan married Dan Snyder, a high School math teacher who had a 2nd home in Alexandria, Nebraska, a small town with a population of 305. It became the family summer vacation destination for several years, providing a new rural experience for Jan and her California born children, as well as temporarily raising the town's population to 310. Jan always lived life to the fullest – sharing her loving, positive outlook with everyone she met. She loved family Christmas, the San Diego Padres, old sayings, and breaking into song whenever something was said that rang a bell. And she loved to laugh. But most of all she loved family and friends, and would do everything in her power to make them happy, making herself happy at the same time. We will remember Jan often and well. We will laugh, cry, and miss her terribly. But we know that she is now safe and comfortable with her Lord and her family members who preceded her to heaven. She is survived by her children – son, Russ Thomas, his wife Kimberly, and their son Phillip; son, George Thomas; and daughter, Julie Sullivan, her husband Tim, and their daughter Megan. Also by her sister, Linda Fox, Nephews, Nieces, and many cousins and friends. Family and friends are invited to join together to celebrate her life on Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 11:00 am. A church service will be held at the Jericho Road Christian Fellowship, located at 9407 Jericho Road, La Mesa, CA. 91942. The location of the reception to follow will be announced at the service. If there is a desire to contribute, in lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Research Links | Lewy Body Dementia Association