Janis Ann (Martin) Boyden

Janis Ann Boyden, age 79, passed away May 12, 2020.  She was born on July 22, 1940 in the family home, near Lafferty Creek, Arkansas to Elbert and Edna (Gower) Martin.  She was the fourth of ten children.  Her parents moved to Washington where her father worked on the Railroad and settled in Clearview.  There she caught the eye of a passing trucker, Ronald Boyden at a local diner. Ron and Jan were married on July 27, 1957, and lived in Arlington until 1967, before settling in Enumclaw.  Together they raised 5 children and were members at Mt. Rainier Christian Center. 

Jan spent her adult life as a caregiver working at the Enumclaw Nursing Home and as an Occupational Therapist at Rainer School.  She was the primary support for Ron, lending a hand to him with his logging business and caring for him in the home.  She loved caring for her family, and looked after grandchildren and other family members and taught her children to be self-sufficient in many aspects of life.

She had a great love of literature and she passed on that enjoyment and encouragement to many family members.  She enjoyed sewing and crocheting, she made large afghans for all her children and grandchildren that will be treasured for years to come. 

Coming from a large family, family reunions were a plenty and Jan could cook anything and everything she prepared was delicious.  From tamale pie to homemade croissants and cinnamon rolls, so many delicious meals were looked forward to by all.

Later in life Jan spent many hours playing cards at the local senior centers in Sumner and Poulsbo, WA. She was always helping others providing transportation to events and appointments. 

Most recently, her time was spent trying to navigate Facebook. She had at least 4 accounts because she could never remember her password, for which she blamed Facebook.  She would always say “Facebook was doing something to her account and losing her treasured pictures”.

Janis is preceded in death by her parents; husband, Ron; sisters, GlenMary Arnold, Diane Michael and Shirley Martin; and brothers, Scotty Martin and Shelby Martin.  She is survived by brothers, Benny (Terri) Martin and Jerry (aka Pete) (Virgie) Martin; sisters, Joy (aka Penny) Martin and Robin Borgen; her children: daughter, Barbara Hoyt, sons, Kenneth Boyden, Garry Boyden, Kelly Boyden, and daughter Brenda (Mark) Ward; 6 grandchildren: Holly, Jared, Alaura, Nick, Jessica and Breanna; 6 great-grandchildren: Alaina, Izabella, Jackson, Ezekiel, Ariana and Ada; sister-in-law, Ardath Rock and brother-in-law, Barry (Carolee) Boyden.

Jan will be remembered for her quirkiness, wonderful laugh and smile, and the joy she found in spending time and holding her grand and great-grandchildren.

A celebration of life will be planned and announced at a later date. 

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