Janet Keener

Janet Larraine (Michael) Keener, 80, died on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, at her home in Sublette, Kansas. She was born on August 25, 1941 to Alice Mae Thomason and William Delbert "Del" Hardin in Kansas City, Missouri. She married Lonnie Henderson Keener on May 10, 1975 in Sublette, Kansas.

Janet's childhood was spent in Kansas City. Raised without any siblings, Janet made friends with neighborhood children, sometimes playing baseball in an empty lot behind the apartment complex where she lived, other times roller-skating and bloodying her knees on chipped city sidewalks. She adored going to the movies and was a lifelong fan of old Hollywood cinema. Her favorite movie was "Imitation of Life," which made her cry every time. As a teenager and young adult, Janet lived in the Great Bend area for several years before moving to Sublette, her home for the past 48-plus years.

Janet loved the Sublette community and never wanted to leave. Here, Janet spent countless hours tending her yard and garden, creating cheerful blooms and growing loads of cucumbers for everyone to quite literally relish after canning season. Besides having a green thumb, Janet was a talented cook. She enjoyed canning and sewing and crocheted enough afghans to outfit every couch in town. Janet was an avid collector of things, mostly dolls, but she also managed to fill an entire camper with her collections of Star Wars, Peanuts, Scooby-Doo and other drinking glass sets popularly offered at McDonald's in the 70s and 80s. She surrounded her home with things she loved: music albums from every genre (but maybe too much Barry Manilow), wall-to-wall books, and photos of her children and grandchildren in every available space.

It cannot go unmentioned how much Janet loved animals. Over the years, she was the pet mother of countless dogs and cats, stray and otherwise, not to mention geese, ducks, chickens, cockatiels, an African-grey parrot, hamsters, and a ferret named Digger.

Janet came to know God and found a genuine fellowship with her church family, who looked out for her in so many ways. We would like to extend a special thank you to the Christ Church of Haskell County and to Pastor David and Tish Erwin for their loving care of our mother.

She is survived by her children, Kimberly Franklin and husband Victor of San Diego, CA, Gary Wiysel and wife Hattie of Minneapolis, MN, Allison Watson of Batavia, NY, and Michelle Reardon and husband Tim of Hendersonville, TN; step-children, Freda Chapman of La Crosse, KS, John Keener of La Crosse, KS, William Keener and wife Brenda of La Crosse, KS, Dalton Keener and wife Barbara of Pawnee Rock, KS, and Paula Keener of La Crosse, KS; twenty-one grandchildren, numerous great-grandchildren, and even great-great-grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her mother, Alice Fildes; her father, Del Hardin; husband, Lonnie Keener; a grandson, Damien Watson; a granddaughter, Sarah Wiysel; and special friend and companion, Jim Ramsey.

A Memorial Service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, March 4 at Christ Church of Haskell County, 204 South Inman St., Sublette, Kansas, with Pastor David Erwin officiating.

Suggested memorial contributions are to the family. Please make checks payable to Weeks Family Funeral Home & Crematory, PO Box 1200, Sublette, Ks 67877. Condolences may be left online at WeeksFamilyFuneralHome.com.
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