Janet Elaine (Brown) Jorden was born to Pearl Mock Brown and Harold Brown on December 16, 1929 in Detroit, Michigan. She was introduced to Jesus by a Sunday School teacher when she was 13 years old and from that day and throughout her life, her faith grew stronger and more certain until she finally met Him face to face on December 25, 2024.

Janet met Paul Jorden at Michigan State University. Following graduation they moved to Chicago, IL where she faithfully supported and encouraged Paul during medical school. Those years established a firm foundation of trust in the Lord to supply all their needs, a solid commitment to daily Bible Study and conviction to be actively involved in a local church. When his training was complete, they moved their growing family to Wheaton where Paul began his Orthopedic Practice.

The Lord blessed Janet and Paul with 9 children during their first 18 years of marriage. In addition to organizing their busy household, Janet's gifts of hospitality and service to others were clearly apparent in the number of   visitors welcomed for meals and overnight stays. Their love for missions grew as they participated in many short term missions trips and as they welcomed missionaries into their home. But never were Janet's organization skills more greatly appreciated then when she packed up her entire family for a year of Missions Service in Africa.

Janet's sensitivity to others overflowed in generosity by meeting needs of all kinds, whether it was using their home to host events, providing funds for unexpected expenses, spending hours earnestly praying for special needs—she joyously shared whatever she had to serve others. She daily practiced the biblical principle that "a soft answer turns away wrath."     Janet leaves a strong legacy of love, servant-hearted leadership, and the art of gentle persuasion through encouragement.

Janet was pre-deceased by her brother Edwin Brown, her parents, her   husband of 62 years Paul and her daughter Susan. She is survived by her children Sandy, Deb, Paul, Beth, Judy, Jim, Kris, and Jenny and their  spouses she loved as her own, Steve, Virgil, Martha, Peter, Bruce, Ben, Kim, Troy, and Dave; 25 grandchildren and 46 great-grandchildren. She helped each of us develop unique talents and taught us the value of family.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, January 3, at 2:00 p.m. at Windsor Park in Carol Steam. The service will be livestreamed through this link: Memorial Service for Janet Jorden. Private interment will be held at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made to Wheaton Bible Church Missions Program, 27W500 North Avenue, West Chicago, IL 60185-1530 or Missionary Furlough Homes Foundation, PO Box 943, Wheaton, IL 60187.

Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all. Proverbs 31: 28,29