Obituary for Janet Elaine Stahlheber (Mitchell)
Janet Elaine (Mitchell) Stahlheber died on July 25, 2022 after a long illness. A long time resident of Rochelle, Illinois, Janet was born March 19, 1938 in Madison, Wisconsin. The eldest of two children born to John Mitchell (1916-1971) and Edith (McCann) Mitchell (1920-1999).
A graduate of Madison East High School in 1955, Janet was advanced one year, from Sophomore year to Senior year, and therefore graduated one year early. Shortly after High School graduation, Janet set off for Miami, Florida where she worked for the telephone company, specifically as a telephone operator connecting long distance international calls.
In the fall of 1956, Janet returned to the Midwest and moved in with her aunt in Rockford, Illinois. This is where she met a young (but older man of 29) Spanish language schoolteacher, Howard Stahlheber. They were wed in February 1957 for 64 years until her husband’s death in January 2021. In March 1957, Janet turned 19 years old.
After spending several years in Rockford, Janet’s husband, Howard, landed a teaching position in Rochelle and in the spring of 1964, they moved their young family to Rochelle, a place that they would call home for the remainder of their lives.
When Illinois passed the Junior College Act, Janet got busy to collect signatures in support of such an innovative endeavor for the time. When Kishwaukee College opened its doors to the first class in the fall of 1968, Janet enrolled. Eager to start her higher education, she had decided that after being a stay at home mom, and once the kids were old enough, she would go back to school and earn her degrees. Janet was not only one of just a few female students at the time, she was also one of a limited number of students that were married, with 4 children ranging in ages from 4 to 10.
Janet eventually earned her bachelor’s degree specializing in psychology and a master’s in education, from Northern Illinois University. This opened the path that lead her to the Rockford School system where she specialized in working with children with behavioral disorders and learning disabilities with native English speakers, as well as Limited English Proficiency speakers, primarily from Spanish speaking countries. Janet, like her husband, was fluent in Spanish, and enjoyed the diversity that she would be exposed to, not only in her teaching career, but in her personal life as well. After teaching and having a major influence on the bilingual education curriculum in Rockford, Janet retired from teaching in 1995 after 20 years.
Travel was one of Janet and her husband’s passions. From spending several summers in Guadalajara, Mexico, to traveling across all parts of the United States and Canada, many summers were spent away from home seeing and enjoying new places and meeting new people. One special trip that Janet often spoke of fondly was their two weeks in China in 2001. Having been to Mexico, Canada and Ireland, the China trip ranked as the “trip of a lifetime”.
However, as much she enjoyed traveling, Janet was very connected to home, family and especially the grandkids and great grandkids. She also was very active in local community events. Driving antique cars in local parades, and supporting the Ogle County Democrats were just a few of her passions. Spending time in the hot summer sun, planting, weeding, and just being outside, was how she enjoyed some of her down time.
Janet is preceded in death by her husband, Howard Stahlheber, son Bruce, grandson Eric Stahlheber, her parents and brother John (Mitchell) Flick. She is survived by her two daughters, Elaine Stahlheber and Susan Kivikko, son Carl Stahlheber (Romel Rodriguez), grandchildren Collin and Casey Kivikko and two great grandchildren David and Daniel Stahlheber.
A graduate of Madison East High School in 1955, Janet was advanced one year, from Sophomore year to Senior year, and therefore graduated one year early. Shortly after High School graduation, Janet set off for Miami, Florida where she worked for the telephone company, specifically as a telephone operator connecting long distance international calls.
In the fall of 1956, Janet returned to the Midwest and moved in with her aunt in Rockford, Illinois. This is where she met a young (but older man of 29) Spanish language schoolteacher, Howard Stahlheber. They were wed in February 1957 for 64 years until her husband’s death in January 2021. In March 1957, Janet turned 19 years old.
After spending several years in Rockford, Janet’s husband, Howard, landed a teaching position in Rochelle and in the spring of 1964, they moved their young family to Rochelle, a place that they would call home for the remainder of their lives.
When Illinois passed the Junior College Act, Janet got busy to collect signatures in support of such an innovative endeavor for the time. When Kishwaukee College opened its doors to the first class in the fall of 1968, Janet enrolled. Eager to start her higher education, she had decided that after being a stay at home mom, and once the kids were old enough, she would go back to school and earn her degrees. Janet was not only one of just a few female students at the time, she was also one of a limited number of students that were married, with 4 children ranging in ages from 4 to 10.
Janet eventually earned her bachelor’s degree specializing in psychology and a master’s in education, from Northern Illinois University. This opened the path that lead her to the Rockford School system where she specialized in working with children with behavioral disorders and learning disabilities with native English speakers, as well as Limited English Proficiency speakers, primarily from Spanish speaking countries. Janet, like her husband, was fluent in Spanish, and enjoyed the diversity that she would be exposed to, not only in her teaching career, but in her personal life as well. After teaching and having a major influence on the bilingual education curriculum in Rockford, Janet retired from teaching in 1995 after 20 years.
Travel was one of Janet and her husband’s passions. From spending several summers in Guadalajara, Mexico, to traveling across all parts of the United States and Canada, many summers were spent away from home seeing and enjoying new places and meeting new people. One special trip that Janet often spoke of fondly was their two weeks in China in 2001. Having been to Mexico, Canada and Ireland, the China trip ranked as the “trip of a lifetime”.
However, as much she enjoyed traveling, Janet was very connected to home, family and especially the grandkids and great grandkids. She also was very active in local community events. Driving antique cars in local parades, and supporting the Ogle County Democrats were just a few of her passions. Spending time in the hot summer sun, planting, weeding, and just being outside, was how she enjoyed some of her down time.
Janet is preceded in death by her husband, Howard Stahlheber, son Bruce, grandson Eric Stahlheber, her parents and brother John (Mitchell) Flick. She is survived by her two daughters, Elaine Stahlheber and Susan Kivikko, son Carl Stahlheber (Romel Rodriguez), grandchildren Collin and Casey Kivikko and two great grandchildren David and Daniel Stahlheber.