Joseph W. Janson, Centenarian

Posted 6/13/12

Joseph William “Joe” Janson, a former resident of Hill House in Chestnut Hill, died May 30 at an assisted-living facility in Decatur, GA, following a short illness. A native of Chicago who earned …

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Joseph W. Janson, Centenarian

Posted

Joseph William “Joe” Janson, a former resident of Hill House in Chestnut Hill, died May 30 at an assisted-living facility in Decatur, GA, following a short illness. A native of Chicago who earned a journalism degree at Northwestern University, he had been associate creative director at J. Walter Thompson in Chicago.  He pursued lifelong interests in photography, Asian art, book collecting, wine making and traveling, and he was a member of the Confrerie de Vins Chaine des Rotisseurs and Les Amis du Vin.  In Chestnut Hill he and his wife, Jane, enjoyed visiting the Woodmere Art Museum, attending plays at Allens Lane and Stagecrafters theaters, and participating in many other aspects of the community’s cultural life. Before moving to Chestnut Hill in 1997 he and Jane restored an 1838 house in eastern Jackson County, MO, and collaborated in writing a cookbook, Travel Your Taste, for Kraft, Inc., published in 1978 by CBI, Boston.  After Jane’s death in 2004 Joe returned to Chicago before moving to the Atlanta area three years ago.  He is survived by three children from his 37-year marriage to Ursula Heurich Janson, who died in 1973: Gilbert Janson, Chicago; Laura Waddick, Decatur; and Jennifer Fuller, Atlanta.  His elder son, Ramsey, died in 1956. He also is survived by his stepdaughter, Nancy Saunders Steele, Philadelphia; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. He has donated his body to Emory University’s School of Medicine. A private memorial service will be held. In lieu of flowers the family suggests contributions in his memory be made to the charity of the donor’s choice.

 

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