Janet Borton

Janet Marie Borton, 82, of Washington, IL, passed away at 12:48 pm, Thursday, June 9, 2022, at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria surrounded by her loving family.

Janet was born on July 12, 1939, in Virden, IL, the daughter of Charles and Eunice Parker Redman.  She married Donald E. Borton on November 30, 1957, in East Peoria. She worked for Kroger’s in the Deli for 25 years retiring in 1994.  She had many close friends in her career.

Trying to describe how wonderful Janet was in a few paragraphs is nearly impossible.  She made friends with everyone she met. She took an interest in people, especially her kids and kid’s friends who called her “Mom” or “Saint Janet”, both fitting titles. 

You would often find Janet on her porch swing with coffee brewing waiting to welcome the tribe that was sure to show up to gather for coffee, conversation and laughter. Everyone was always welcome and the door was always open.  

She loved the holidays and hosting them at her home, especially Christmas.  She loved to shop, later in life she discovered Facebook and then Amazon Prime. The Prime boxes never stopped filling the porch.  She was someone that many would go to for honest advice, laughter, or tears.  She enjoyed cooking and sharing her love for it with her kids but especially sharing recipes with her beloved Grandson Jake.  

Surviving are her husband Donny of Washington, IL, one brother Danny (Kathy) Redman of Sheridan, IL with whom she shared a very special bond. Her Children: Kelly (Fred) Cooley, Lynne Koehl Borton, Kurt Borton, and Mindy (Todd) Hollingsworth. 9 grandchildren; Jason Henderson, Jill Zaiser, Jennifer Eckstein, Jodi Heyder, Jessi Borton, Nicholas Borton, Ashley Borton, Mitchell Keller, Drew Hollingsworth, and step grandson Jordan Hollingsworth. 12 great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandson and her loyal companion, a mini dachshund, Bella. Proceeding her in death are son Kent Borton, Kent’s son Jacob Borton, and older brother George "Pat" Redman.

She had an infectious laugh that would not stop. If you were with her during one of these laughing “spells” you couldn’t stop either. Something we all cherished was our yearly birthday calls, you knew not to answer the phone so she could get your voicemail and sing you Happy Birthday.  I think we can all agree our birthdays will never be the same.  

A special thank you to Mitchell, who was by grandma’s side every day for years and held her hand until her last breath. Another special thank you to Mindy and her husband Todd for taking such great care of grandma. 

All who knew her will miss her quick wit, her sassy personality and her red hair that stayed with her to the end. She was the best Mom and Grandma any family could ask for and we will be extremely lost without her. We will carry this loss with us for the rest of our lives. Until we meet again.

A funeral service is scheduled for 11:00 am Tuesday, June 14, 2022, at Mason-White Funeral Home in Washington.  Visitation will be one hour before her service.  Entombment will be at the Hillcrest Mausoleum in rural Morton.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the JOLT Foundation-Harm Reduction or the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  Following her entombment, a light lunch will be served at Glad Tidings Assembly of God Church in East Peoria. To share a memory or send a condolence to her family, visit www.masonfuneralhomes.com.

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.