Janet DesAutels, Mother of 2, Volunteered in Saline Schools, Loved Reading to Kids, Reading Literature and Other Genres

Janet Louise DesAutels, age 97, of Saline, Michigan, passed away peacefully on Friday, June 26, 2026 at Brecon Village in Saline. Janet was born March 8, 1929 in Crawfordsville, Indiana to Earl H. Brown and Adrienne Cheney Brown. She spent much of her youth in Sheffield, Alabama, with brief stints in Yellow Springs, Ohio and Long Island, New York. Janet graduated from Kalamazoo College in 1951 with a degree in English literature. She met Fletcher DesAutels at college, and they were married on December 25, 1952 and remained together until his death in 2000. They had two children, Andrew (Carol), now of Wichita Falls, Texas, and Austin, of Saline, both of whom survive her. Two grandchildren, Matthew (Kim) of Electra, Texas and Alina Johnston (Jared) of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and three great-grandchildren, Grace DesAutels, Briana and Landry Johnston also survive her. Of her three siblings, Janet also is survived by her sister Alberta of Arcata, California.

Janet and Fletcher moved to Saline in 1979. She immediately began volunteer work at Jensen Elementary School and continued at Pleasant Ridge School for over 40 years. Serving many teachers as they had need, she excelled in one-on-one tutoring with the students. Her greatest joy was reading to them. Outside of school, she enjoyed playing the piano and listening to many types of music, gardening, bike rides, traveling and friends. But the love of her life was reading, first of her beloved classical English literature, but extending to many other genres.

A Memorial Service will be held on Friday, July 31st at 1:00 pm at Keystone Church in Saline. A reception will follow and will also be held at the church. Memorial contributions in Janet’s name may be made to Environment Michigan https://environmentamerica.org/michigan/, to Pirgim https://pirg.org/michigan/, or to a charity of the donor’s choice. To leave a memory you have of Janet, to sign her online guestbook or for directions please visit www.rbfhsaline.com

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