Janet C. Van Gelder

Janet was born in Tottenville, NY on September 23, 1943, the daughter of the late Walter and Irma Casey.

She was raised in Staten Island and graduated from Tottenville High School in 1961. Janet earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing at the State University of New York College at Plattsburgh. She held professional licenses as a Registered Nurse and a School Nurse Teacher. Her professional associations included the Arthritis Foundation of WNY, board member of the Epilepsy Foundation of WNY, the NY State Nurses Association, teaching assistant with learning disabled children, the American Heart Association, Parents of Children with Learning Difficulties, and the International Organization of Multiple Sclerosis Nurses.

Janet held many positions in WNY, including Staff Nurse at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Cheektowaga, NY, and Nursing Supervisor and Director of Nursing at the Park Shore Health Care Center in Dunkirk, NY. Most recently, she served as the in-service educator and relief supervisor at The Deaconess Center in Buffalo, NY.

Her passion was music; she loved to sing. She sang in the choir for “Opera on the Sound,” performed with Summer Stock Theater Groups in Wooster, NY and Berkshire, Maine. Janet was an advocate for Multiple Sclerosis, a disease that affected her as an adult. She also enjoyed collecting “rocks” in the shape of elephants.

Survivors include a son, Richard (Elizabeth) Herring of Maplewood, NJ; and two granddaughters, Olivia and Isabelle Herring.

Besides her parents, Janet was preceded in death by a brother, Walter Casey.

Friends may call at the Hole-Parker Funeral Chapel, 160 Central Ave., Silver Creek, NY, on Friday, May 19, 2017 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The family suggest memorial contributions in Janet’s honor to the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation,

6520 N. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309.

To share a condolence or a remembrance with Janet’s family go to www.holeparkerfc.com.