Janet Mae Seymour

Janet Mae Ignaszewski Seymour died peacefully in the comfort of her own home following a brief illness. She was the daughter of the late Erwin and Ella (McNall) Ignaszewski. Born and raised in Burlington, VT, she enjoyed being the youngest in the family with siblings, the late Margaret Martin and Richard Miller.

During her high school years, Janet sacrificed high school activities to work at Kelly's Pharmacy as a sales associate to provide financial assistance for her family. After graduating from Burlington High School in 1950, she worked as a secretary at General Electric for several years. She married her childhood friend, Leon Seymour, and celebrated 43 years of marriage until Leon's death in 1997. After starting their family, Janet left GE to become a homemaker to 6 children and established herself as a reliable babysitter for neighborhood children. In 1979, Janet and Leon accepted a transfer with IBM Corporation from Essex Junction, VT to Charlotte, NC. For the next 44 years, Janet and Leon, in addition to their three youngest children, called Mount Pleasant, NC their home. After Leon's retirement from IBM, they were fortunate to spend the next 10 years staying summers in South Hero, VT and winters in Mount Pleasant, NC. Janet and Leon loved spending hours reading, golfing, and fishing on their boat on Lake Champlain in Vermont. After Leon's death, Janet continued visiting Vermont to spend time with friends and family and relished her time as a member of the BHS class reunion committee. While living in NC, Janet enjoyed working part time at several businesses throughout the years including The Sweet Shop, Mills Florist, Brendle's, Target, and Ben Franklin Crafts.

During her GE days, Janet played on the company softball team where her fellow teammates nicknamed her Iggy. Janet's family will fondly remember her as a loving mom who delighted in being an elementary class mom for 15 years, extraordinary knitter, genealogy detective, M&M's collector, Carolina Hurricanes and Panther fan. She loved her cats, especially Molly, her beloved dogs, Mattie and Abby, eating hot dogs with mustard and onions, maple walnut ice cream, fresh raspberries, chicken scampi at Olive Garden, and bologna and cheese sandwiches. Some of her favorite activities included riding her lawn mower, birdwatching on her sunporch, and reading romantic novels. Her special travel adventures took her to Canada, Aruba, Hawaii, the Bahamas, and throughout the continental United States. She fancied slot machines in Las Vegas, NV and Montreal, Canada.

Janet is survived by her 6 children: Lee, Kathy, Mike (Ginger), Gary (Natalie), Lori, and Mark (Denise). Her legacy includes 18 grandchildren: Lucas, Danny, Bryan (Georgia), Ryan (Tammy), Jason (Kayla), Adam (Shelby), Justin (Melissa), Evan (Kendyl), Kaitlynn, Madalynn (Patrick), Mallory, Makenna, Christian (Jenna), Ashley (Matt), Rebecca (Lucas), Hope, Mariah (Billy), and Mikayla. And, 21 great grandchildren: Marley, Owen, Landan, James, Carter, Jaxxon, Trevor, Owen, Norah, Donovan, Ava, Mackenzie, Caden, Parker, Jacob, Madelyn, Rylee, Michaela, Aubra, Kylan, and baby boy Campbell (December 2023). Along with several nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, Janet can be honored by contributions to the Alzheimer's Association-Western Carolina Chapter or Mount Pleasant Animal Rescue at PO Box 1076, Mount Pleasant, NC 28124. Janet will be reunited with Leon at a private family graveside service to be held in the near future at Lakewood Cemetery in Vermont.

Special thanks to Dawn Caviness, MD, for providing years of exemplary medical care and to our brother, Gary Seymour, for his selfless dedication to our mom.