MIDDLETON - Janet Lynn Crnich (neé Marren) passed away peacefully on Saturday, September 12, 2026, surrounded by family and friends. She was 55. Janet lived a full and joyful life - one marked by love, curiosity, and connection long before her diagnosis, and one she continued to embrace fully in the five years she lived with cancer. Even through her illness, she remained determined to live richly, finding joy in the people and moments that mattered to her right up until the end.

Janet was born December 11, 1970, in Oak Park, Ill., and raised in Waukegan, Ill. She attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for both her undergraduate degree and law school, where in 1991 she met Christopher J. Crnich - the man she would spend the rest of her life with. Janet went on to build a career as a lawyer in Chicago before moving to Madison, Wis., in 2000 to be with Chris. They married on November 2, 2002, at the House of Blues in Chicago, and Janet continued practicing law until 2014.

Janet approached life with curiosity and warmth, and it showed in everything she loved. She was an avid traveler, with London holding a permanent place in her heart as her favorite city in the world. She found joy in baking, curling, and tennis, and through these pursuits cultivated a wide and lasting network of friends - relationships that enriched her own life just as much as they enriched the lives of others. After being diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2020, Janet faced multiple treatments and two disease relapses with remarkable strength, refusing to let illness define the years that followed. She entered hospice care in August 2026 and passed peacefully, exactly as she lived - surrounded by the people she loved.

Janet was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Loretta Marren. She is survived by her husband, Christopher J. Crnich; and her brother, John Marren; along with the many friends and members of her extended family who were lucky enough to call her theirs.

A memorial service will be held at THE EDGEWATER HOTEL, 1001 Wisconsin Place, Madison, at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 17, 2026. Visitation will be held at the hotel from 12:30 p.m. until 4:00 pm on Saturday.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Janet's memory to the Madison Curling Club (https://madisoncurlingclub.com/shop/mcc-donation/) or the Madison Public Library (https://mplfoundation.org/). Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson West

Funeral & Cremation Care

7435 University Ave.

(608) 831-6761

Janet Lynn Crnich (neé Marren)

December 11, 1970 - September 12, 2026

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