Janet Bruce, age 83, a resident of Salem, OR, formerly of Wheaton, IL, passed away on Tuesday, August 22, 2023, after battling with dementia for several years.

Janet was born July 4, 1940, in Dixon, Illinois, to Robert and Belva Foltz.

After growing up in Sterling, Illinois, she attended Taylor University from 1958-1962, graduating with a B.A. in Music. At Taylor, Janet met David Bruce. On August 19, 1961, the two were married in Dixon. While David subsequently earned two graduate degrees - M.S (1965) and Ph.D. (1968) - at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, Janet pursued her own graduate work, earning the M.S., Ed. degree in 1964 from Purdue. She went on to serve as a sixth-grade teacher while the couple lived in Brier, Washington, a suburb of Seattle. Then, in 1974, David and Janet, along with their two small boys (Rob & Scot) moved back to the Midwest, when David accepted a position at Wheaton College as a Professor of Biology / Physiology. Janet, too, ultimately served at the college, working as an administrative assistant in Wheaton's Graduate School until she retired in 2000, following David's unexpected death.

Throughout her adult life, Janet enjoyed playing the piano and listening to beautiful music from an array of composers. Her favorites were pieces by Bach, Mozart, & Chopin. She was a devout follower of Jesus Christ, and read her Bible daily. She also enjoyed reading works by Christian authors, including C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Elisabeth Elliot, among many others. In addition to a love of baking and gardening, Janet craved times of fellowship with her family as well as her friends from church, especially those who, like her, attended Bethany Chapel (in Wheaton) for decades.

Janet is survived by her two sons, Rob of Portland, OR and Scot (Jennifer) of Salem, OR, by her grandson, Connor, and also by her three siblings: Ronald Foltz of Shingle Springs, CA, Carol Thorne of Wheaton, IL, and Diane (David) McCallister of Fort Mill, SC.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. David S. Bruce, and also by her parents, Robert and Belva Foltz.