Janet (Redmond) Overman

Her Life,

She was the picture of grace, of compassion, of gratitude, and mostly, of courage. She could have become embittered by the cruel fates in her life but instead treated them simply as a crook in her path, a twist in her journey. She never lost that twinkle in her eye or her zest for life, even as her body, little by little, betrayed her. She refused to be pitied, rather reaching out to others in need.

She was an Earth Angel. 

She was My Sweetie.

Janet Marie Redmond was born May 5, 1957, in West Springfield, Massachusetts. After four boys, her parents, Jim and Winnie, finally had a girl, a beautiful redhead, bespeaking her Irish heritage. Her early life was as perfect as possible because, after all, she was Daddy’s Little Girl. 

Her father, a World War II Vet and Purple Heart recipient, took a job with Gilbarco and quickly moved up the executive ladder. Janet was 8 years old when the company moved to Greensboro, NC and he had no choice but to move the family with it. Janet was adapting to the Southern life rather smoothly when the unthinkable happened — her dad suffered a massive heart attack and died. Her world ended.

Somehow — we now recognize as God’s Grace — she allowed the grieving process to weave its magic, and she had a relatively normal adolescence. She became an accomplished Western equestrian, had a paper route, made money babysitting, had a close-knit group of friends, and graduated from Page High School in 1975.

She enrolled at N.C. State University but dropped out after two years. There was an issue rearing its ugly head that would eventually consume her — alcoholism. Still, it was a slow descent. She landed a job at Time-Warner Cable (now Spectrum) and held it for 17 years. Early in her career, she met a fellow 10 years her senior who had similar interests, the three B’s: Beatles, Boston (Red Sox) and Beer. And against all odds, an enduring love sprang from those mutual pursuits, and they were married March 24, 1985.

On the outside they seemed a normal, happy couple, but inside the thirst for the grape, the hops, the barley malt was overtaking not only their relationship but their very lives. Finally, and courageously, she realized she had to do something about her disease and checked herself into Fellowship Hall Treatment Center. She took her last drink on February 19, 1989, remaining sober for 36 years, five months and two days. Her husband was dragged kicking and screaming into Fellowship Hall the day after Janet completed her 28-day program, and he too has maintained continuous sobriety.

Their lives turned around immediately. To call it blissful, borderline idyllic even, would not be hyperbolic. But in July 1990 an obstacle arose that dwarfed even her father’s death and her alcoholism. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Again, through God’s grace, the couple learned to cope with the chronic-progressive disease as it gradually took its toll. As it slowly robbed her of all of her physical abilities, her gratitude never diminished, her courage never wavered. And she never lost her smile.

She was My Sweetie.

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