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Janet Day ("Jenny Wren") Andrus, 95, of Mill Hall, Pa., passed away at home on July 18, 2026, under the loving care of her daughter and son-in-law.
One of eight children, Janet was born in Lock Haven, Pa., on March 18, 1931, to William and Vivian Barrett. Music shaped her humble, Depression-era childhood. Her father was an accomplished trumpet player, and she taught herself to play piano, mostly by ear. Later in life, she would play at her church and at Susque-View nursing home, often alongside her guitarist son-in-law and flutist granddaughter.
Janet graduated from Mill Hall High School in 1949 and attended Lock Haven Hospital School of Nursing, earning her RN degree in 1953. After marrying Leon Andrus, an Airman with the U.S. Air Force, in 1954, she traveled the world with him, using her nursing skills along the way. She first worked at St. Vincent De Paul Hospital in Cheyenne, Wyo., followed by Hadley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., until the birth of their son, Andy, in 1956. While stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii, they welcomed their daughter, Susan, in 1959. After serving in Alabama, Alaska, Texas and Germany, Janet and Leon settled in Flemington, Pa., where they became faithful members of First Baptist Church in Lock Haven.
Janet established a reputation as a skilled, compassionate nurse while working in the Med-Surg Unit at Lock Haven Hospital from 1968 to 1977. She then served as Company Nurse at American Color and Chemical from 1977 to 1982. Returning to Lock Haven Hospital, she spent the rest of her career in the Extended Care Unit, where she mentored other nurses before retiring in 1993.
Janet's compassion was not limited to hospital rooms. Always a healer in her home, she attended to the hurts and hearts of her children. She fostered (or perhaps just tolerated) Andy's love of various creatures, domestic and wild. For Susan, Janet was peace itself, a calming presence in the midst of any fear. Janet's affection for her husband, Leon, was evident in the way she spoke to him and cared for him over their 55 years of marriage.
Family members and friends felt Janet's healing, loving touch in the form of countless cards, warm meals, meaningful gifts, knitted dishcloths, personalized scrapbooks and charming, original poems, which lit a poetic spark in all of her descendants, one granddaughter in particular.
Her grandchildren fondly remember the hours "Grammy" spent playing games with them at her kitchen table, swinging with them on her back porch and teaching them simple songs on the piano. Her great-grandchildren remember performing the skits "Gigi" wrote for them during family gatherings.
Above all, Janet's example of Christian faith and hope, especially during times of profound loss and grief, threads through the generations. Her family rejoices in the grand heavenly reunion she's now experiencing after a long life -- a story of great pain counterbalanced with the abundant joy she found in her family, her work and most of all, her Savior.
Janet is survived by her daughter, Susan Powlus (Todd), of Mill Hall; her beloved baby sister, Valerie Brungard, of Loganton; grandchildren Caleb Powlus (Betsy), of Harleysville, Shanna Wheeler (Drew), of Montoursville, Nichole Adkinson-Cupps (Thomas), of Texas, Sabrina Hernandez (Joaquin), of Texas, and Brittany Horton (Eric), of Texas; great-grandchildren Savannah Powlus, Lawson Powlus, Sophia Wheeler, Finn Wheeler, Jett Adkinson, Kolby Cupps, Sofia Hernandez, Oliver Hernandez, Emma Hernandez and Samuel Horton; daughter-in-law, Karen Andrus-Smith; former daughter-in-law, Lisa McCloskey; and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Leon; her son, Andy; her grandson Max Andrus; her parents, William and Vivian Barrett; and her siblings Margie Ankney, Shirley Smart, Lorraine Barrett, Ronald Barrett, Libby Brungard and Maude Gagorik.
A visitation will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 22, at Gedon Funeral Homes & Cremation Services, LLC, 320 Main St., Mill Hall, Pa., followed by a service at 11 a.m., officiated by Pastor Douglas Packard of First Baptist Church of Lock Haven.
The family wishes to extend their gratitude to Janet's caregivers, Brenda Duck and Susan Budinger, for their angel-like vigilance and support; to Pastor Douglas Packard and his wife, Jill, for their prayers and visitations over the years; and to Janet's attentive medical providers Jen Miller, Dr. Bharat Adroja and the staff of UPMC Hospice.
Memorial donations may be made to First Baptist Church of Lock Haven, 210 N. Vesper St., Lock Haven, Pa., 17745.
Online thoughts and memories can be shared at the Gedon Funeral Homes Facebook page or www.GedonFuneralHomes.com