Janett Stansfield Cavender

Janett Stansfield Cavender passed away peacefully at the age of 94 on December 16, 2017 at Brookdale, in Oakwood, Ohio. For the past fourteen years Janett suffered from dementia. Despite the loss of many things over those years, she never lost her sense of humor and her sociability.
Janett is remembered for her love of Dayton, where she spent most of her life, with the exception of a few years in Oakbrook IL and Sarasota FL. Janett graduated from Steele High School in 1939 and attended Antioch College for several years. Janett valued community engagement and served on the Oakwood City Council from 1974 to 1977. She was a supporter and member of the board of The Widow's Home and an enthusiastic fundraiser. When Janett was raising her family she was a member of the Progressive Mother's Club and the Dayton Women's Club. Janett was an engaged member of the Planned Parenthood board and distinguished herself as an early "feisty feminist". She was also a lifetime member of First Baptist Church of Dayton.
For a number of years Janett worked for Third National Bank as a Community Relations Manager. She graduated from Steele High School in (include year) and attended Antioch College, where she met her husband Joseph Stansfield. They married in 1942, just before Joe joined the Air Force and spent several years of WWII in England.
Janett was a member of the same bridge club for over 50 years. Not only did the group play a lot of bridge, but enjoyed dancing to jazz music from the 30's and 40's. She stayed in touch with friends and family from all decades of her life. She reveled in the fact that her parents were two of twenty three children, so she had cousins wherever she went. She and her sisters, June and Jean, raised their ten children to have tight bonds as cousins, which persist to this day. Janett and Joe lived with their children in two Dayton neighborhoods, where Janett maintained deep lifetime friendships.
Janett is preceded in death by her parents Lottimae Stephens (1966) and Rolland R. Waddell (1937), as well as her first husband and the father of her three children, Joseph Gibson Stansfield, who died of leukemia in 1963. Janett also lost her second husband Col. Ronald A. Johnston (1974) and her third husband Thomas Cavender (2006), both to cancer. Janett is the last member of her family's generation, having lost her sisters June Hendrickson and Jean Ainslie. Janett is survived by her three children; Douglas R. Stansfield (Patty Randall) of Dayton, Elizabeth S. Cecil (David Wagner) of New York City, and Susan S. Boren (Steve King) of Minneapolis, and six grandchildren: Joey and Sam Stansfield, Amanda and Ben Cecil, and Jay and Celia Boren. Janett also has two great grandchildren, Isa Dynesen and Felix Boren.
Janett's children are particularly grateful to Keno Hampton who provided loving care and support to their mother for over twenty years and to the staff at Brookdale in Oakwood, who helped make Janett's last years comfortable and happy. Burial will be at a private family service at Memorial Park Cemetery. There will be a celebration of Janett's life at a later date when members of her extended family can gather. The family requests that no flowers be sent. If friends wish to honor Janett, please send gifts to The Widow's Home, Planned Parenthood, The Alzheimer's Association, or Hospice of Dayton.