Janette Merriman

Janette was born to Charles and Patricia Meek on May 25th, 1958 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and spent her early childhood in Doylestown with her parents and older sisters, Lynn and Lorene. Nine years later the family moved west to Corvallis, OR. She first learned how to weave while attending Crescent Valley High School and graduated in 1976. She went on to Oregon State University and earned a degree in American History with a minor in Clothing and Textiles. Persuing her love of history, she spent the next 20 years working in museums and parks across the country including Colonial Yorktown, Virginia; Cape Fear Museum in North Carolina; the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula, Montana; the USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial; and the Southern Oregon Historical Society in Medford. After moving to Medford, she met Mark Merriman and they were married on November 23, 1991. As her focus gradually shifted to textiles and fiber arts, her loom filled with projects of all kinds. She experimented with spinning and dying her own wool and loved incorporating found objects in her work. Her work was displayed in several galleries in Southen Oregon; she was particularly proud of an honorable mention for an entry at the Firehouse Gallery in Grants Pass. She also had showings at The River Gallery in Independence, and the Corvallis Art Center. Janette began (and won) her battle with breast cancer in 1999. She was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2005 and fought it with surgery and chemotherapy. In the Fall of 2008, she and Mark moved to Corvallis, and became active in Calvin Presbyterian Church. The colon cancer returned in 2009. When she wasn’t creating, she enjoyed being outdoors with Mark and her faithful canine sidekick, Sophie, exploring in the mountains or meandering along the coast. Memorial contributions can be made to the Linn-Benton Historical Society or Love INC of Benton County. Survivors include her husband, Mark, and step-children, Amy (and Jono) Miller, and Timothy: her father, Charles and step-mother, Sharon Nelson Meek; sister and brother-in-law Lynn and Roger Evey and their six children, Rebecca, Joel, Kristen (and Chris) Volpi, Jonathan, Matthew, and Patricia. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm, Tuesday August 16th at Calvin Presbyterian Church in Corvallis.

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Janette Merriman

May 25, 1958 - August 9, 2011