Obituary of Janet Mitton

Janet I. Mitton (Turnbull)

Peacefully, and with family at her side, Janet Mitton passed on to glory on Saturday, February 24th, 2018, in her 95th year. Janet was predeceased by her beloved husband of 44 years, Fred H. Mitton, in 1993. The dear mother of Craig (Rosemary) of Rondeau, and Martha (Stewart) DeVreker of Windsor. She will be lovingly remembered by grandchildren Stephanie(the late Ron) Clarke, and her partner Ian Affleck; Peter (Christina), and Charlie (Karla), as well as great-grandchildren Ireland, Freddy, and Caladh Clarke, and Vanessa Mitton. Janet is predeceased by her siblings Harvey and Bruce Turnbull and Mary Margaret ‘Peggy’ Fuller, and by Fred’s siblings John Mitton and Evelyn Bowyer. Janet will be missed by her sister-in-law Margaret Turnbull and her many nieces and nephews. Janet was the daughter of Harry and Martha Turnbull of Toronto. The Turnbull family was responsible for raising the people of Toronto - and many more locations - above the third floor with their excellent Turnbull company elevators. Janet trained as a registered nurse at Toronto General Hospital and the University of Toronto’s Public Health Nursing program. Arriving from Toronto in 1947, she was the first Public Health Nurse for the area of Ridgetown, Thamesville, Bothwell, Howard and Orford Townships, when the Kent County Health Unit was organized. As she fondly recalled, it was the promise of a car that enticed her to the area, and Fred Mitton’s charm that kept her here beyond that first year. Throughout her life, Janet maintained a keen interest in the community. She volunteered for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB), and was a 25-year-long member of the Chatham Kent Advisory Board for the Blind. She was on the Ridgetown Centennial Committee, was a life member of Erie Street U.C.W., and a past regent and 60 year member of the Confederation Chapter IODE, Ridgetown. For more than 30 years, she was a real helpmate to her husband Fred, working together at the family business, Mitton’s Jewellers. Family and warm friendships, old and new, were always Janet’s great joy.

Visitation will be held at the McKinlay Funeral Home, 76 Main St. East, Ridgetown on Thursday, March 1st from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Funeral services will be held at the Erie Street United Church, Ridgetown, on Friday, March 2nd at 11:30 a.m. Cremation to follow with spring interment in Greenwood Cemetery, Ridgetown. 

Those wishing to make a donation in Janet’s memory, are asked to consider the Erie Street United Church Fund, the CNIB, or the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. Online condolences may be left at www.mckinlayfuneralhome.com.