Janet Margaret Cowgill Grambo

Janet Margaret Cowgill Grambo, a lifelong student and teacher, passed away peacefully and surrounded by family in her home on March 14, 2022, at the age of 79. Born to Lewis Fremont Cowgill and Carol Louise Hand Cowgill on June 7, 1942, in Cleveland Ohio Cuyahoga County, Jan promptly showed her propensity for learning and teaching. By age four, she read books to her younger sister and brother, and she also graded all the assignments for her father’s high school classes while attending the same institution. She graduated from Parma Senior High School in 1959 after meeting her high school sweetheart and later husband Alan Arthur Grambo. The two wed on June 15, 1963, and built a life together for 59 years. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in education from Ohio State University in December 1963, Jan began her official teaching career with a class of fourth grade students at Roadoan Elementary School in Brooklyn, Ohio. She taught there for two years, and then went on to teach in Washington Township schools in Indianapolis for another two years. She believed in tailoring her education styles to each child’s specific needs. Jan continued her own education with her seven children, growing her skills and becoming proficient as both an editor and American Sign Language interpreter. She regularly taught ASL classes and frequently interpreted for Deaf clients in medical, business, academic, and religious settings. She enjoyed interpreting and editing because both occupations allowed her to gather new information–she could learn new things from editing nonfiction works, glean medical knowledge from interpreting for doctor’s appointments, and she never passed up a chance to share what she learned at home. She always played an active role in her family’s education, even spending a few years driving 127 miles each way, every week to teach English and writing skills to her grandchildren and other homeschool students in Kentucky, creating her own curriculum based on wholesome literature. Jan never went anywhere without a book and never limited her reading to any particular genre or subject. She considered literature a great teaching tool to help her family and loved ones and strove to help everyone discover a love of books and reading. Her children and their spouses often called her to ask for lists of books for their kids, and Jan always had individualized responses for each person, no matter the age. Each week, she picked up 10 books from the library and then wrote reviews online for readers so she could help even people she didn’t know find books to enjoy, too. Jan searched for truth and goodness her entire life, embracing it everywhere she found it. She carried and discovered the light of Christ in her life and steadfastly served as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for 47 years after choosing to be baptized in white on May 18, 1974. She raised six daughters and one son, all to be married in temples of the Church of Jesus Christ. She fought cancer tenaciously the last four years of her life, battling for more time to spend with her family and more time to read books. Jan is preceded in death by her mother, father, and grandchild Timothy Charles Grambo. She is survived by her husband, Alan; siblings, Karen Erickson (husband Michael) and Charles Cowgill (wife Carloyn); children, Marcene Williams (husband Kenneth), Elaine Lee (husband Steven), Jeanette Watson (husband Val), Andrew Grambo (wife Janalyn), Cynthia Schofield (husband Christopher), Beth Ashton (husband Jeremy), and Karen Bell (husband Michael); 37 grandchildren; and four great grandchildren, who all possess and treasure many books from her. The family will celebrate Jan’s life with a viewing on March 25 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Shirley Brothers funeral home, 9900 Allisonville Rd. in Indianapolis, and a viewing on March 26 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. with funeral services to follow at 12:30 p.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 777 Sunblest Blvd. in Fishers. A funeral broadcast option is available for those with medical conditions or distance prevents attendance. Please contact a family member to receive the contact information to be added to the list of those who desire this option. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial gifts be made to the Humanitarian Aid Fund of The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints.https://donate.churchofjesuschrist.org/donations/church/humanitarian-services/humanitarian-aid-fund.html?cde2=475&) or the Hamilton Humane Society (https://secure.indyhumane.org/site/Donation2?1903.donation=form1&df_id=1903&_ga=2.62563500.124782668.1625083733-708836535.1623773442).

Tributes

Janet Margaret Cowgill Grambo

June 7, 1942 - March 14, 2022