Janet Seabury Stonecipher

Stonecipher, Janet Seabury (Slade) MADISON-Janet Seabury (Slade) Stonecipher, entered Agrace HospiceCare (at home) on Dec. 26, 2014, due to her declining health related to lupus and heart and kidney failure. The hope for rebound following a hospitalization for heart failure earlier in December did not occur. She died gracefully in bed at home with her husband and daughter at her side on Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014. Janet Seabury Slade was born the only child of John Slade and Marjorie Claire (Smith) Slade in San Jose, Calif., on March 2, 1947. She was educated at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, earning a BA in psychology. She married Charles (Chuck) Edgar Stonecipher on August 16, 1969. Janet began her working life as a teenager and her work at the Milpitas Post was a formative experience that she often referenced. This led her to employment in the back shop of the Daily Cardinal (student newspaper at the UW) where her exposure to electronic composition started her on a career in information technology. She served in numerous important management positions in the public sector including public television and radio, different State agencies, and the local school district. At a later stage in her life, Janet completed training to serve as a hospital chaplain and served in this role until the end of her life. She was very committed and very productive in all her endeavors. Janet interrupted her professional career to become a mother. This was a role she embraced and cherished. Janet was very aware and proud of her ancestry dating back to the earliest Western European presence on this continent. She also embraced her middle name, Seabury, as she was a direct descendent of Samuel Seabury, the first Episcopal Bishop on this continent. Her relationship with institutional religion through her family is a long and interesting story. Janet has been very engaged in the First Unitarian Society of Madison for the last twenty-five years. She has sung in the choir and served as a lay minister and wedding officiant, as well as serving in numerous volunteer roles. Besides her love of music (“there’s a song for everything”), Janet was very invested in political activities. She was proud to have run and served in elected office and served as chair of the Police Committee in Cross Plains, Wis. Janet inherited her family’s pride and passion for voting and civic engagement. She marched and sang and blogged and wrote (many) letters to her elected representatives. Janet was very informed and very astute about political dynamics. You wouldn’t want to talk to her about not voting. She was an active member of several online political groups and was embraced by them. Janet often spoke of her “imaginary friends”; we knew they were real. On September 12, 2014, Janet sang with the Raging Grannies at the Fighting Bob kick-off at the Barrymore Theater here in Madison. She was proud of her affiliation with the Raging Grannies and participated as her health allowed. The next day, Janet participated in the inaugural area Lupus walk to raise money and awareness for lupus. She needed to rest 5 or 6 times, but completed a mile. A week later, she was on a 911 ambulance ride to the UW Hospital emergency room with a third degree AV heart blockage. Singing at the State Capitol on Election Day, November 4, 2014, was her last hurrah. Janet is survived by her husband of 45 years, Chuck; daughter, Emily Stonecipher of Madison, beloved grandson, Leonardo Avventi of Madison; and a host of other in-laws. Also surviving her are a number of dear friends from her California childhood, including, Donna Reitman and Lynn Ritter. Others with special childhood connections include, the Levines, Ziebells, and Van Nostrands. Janet is also survived by numerous close and caring friends in the Wisconsin community, as well as numerous “imaginary” friends around the Country. She was preceded in death by her parents; sister-by-choice, Gena (Penny) Gordon; special friend, Mae Schrank; sister-in-law, Mary Stonecipher; father-in-law, Lawrence Stonecipher; and niece, Elaine Stonecipher. A casual visitation will be held at GUNDERSON EAST FUNERAL HOME, 5203 Monona Dr., Madison, from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m., on Friday, January 2, 2015. A Memorial Celebration of Janet’s life will be held at LANDMARK AUDITORIUM, at the FIRST UNITARIAN SOCIETY OF MADISON, 900 University Bay Dr., Madison, at 11 a.m., on Saturday, January 31, 2015. Donations in Janet’s honor may be made to the First Unitarian Society Music Program. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com. Gunderson East Funeral & Cremation Care 5203 Monona Drive (608)221-5420