Jeanette Witt

Jan’s spirit returned to the Lord June 1st, 2024 surrounded by loving family in her home.  She was born in Forest Park, Cook County, Illinois, to Miriam Cisa Rosander and Luster Stuart Badger.  A graduate of John Marshall High school in Chicago, Illinois, Jan graduated with an art major, was a soprano in the girl’s glee club and belonged to the Braile readers and the Group of Thespians.  Jan worked for Sears & Roebuck for a short time in Chicago before moving to Bandera, Texas.  In Bandera, she met and married Harold “John” Witt a U.S. Air Force sentry dog handler at Lackland Air Force Base and gave birth to one son, John Jefferey.

Military life took her across the Pacific to Japan for 4 years and her husband John credited her with strength for keeping the “homestead” as he was away “TDY’ often between the U.S. mainland, Hokkaido, Japan and Korea.  She would say “Military life is NOT for sissies.”  The mid 60’s would see her in Mylith Park, Illinois while John was in Vietnam.  She described that year as “The year I didn’t sleep.”  Military retirement in 1969, kept Jan traveling as the wife of a narcotic dog handler for U.S. Customs in San Lorenzo, California.  She served as a merit badge counselor of the Boy Scouts of America.  She continued her artwork and love of Native American studies.  The mid 1970’s would find her in Laredo, Texas, where she would be very active in the Laredo Art League and the Pocahontas Council.  She became a member of the Daughter’s of the American Revolution.  She was also a member of the Order of Eastern Stars.

Jan’s art emerged from being dormant and blossomed into a “blessing of many kinds”.  Jan referred to them as “winks from God.”  Jan painted on canvas, painted river rocks turning them into the hidden things that they resembled, created “blessing stones” with the message “For with God all things are possible.”  Jan scattered these stones around to be found by a passerby in hopes of glorifying God.  She sculpted clay into all manner of objects and subjects.  She created Native American mixed media artworks, using clay and fur and leather.   Jan’s miniature collection is featured in the “Badgers Burrow” display at the Whitehead Museum in Del Rio, Texas featuring a Victorian house, a general store, Santa’s workshop, a livery stable.  In another area of the museum are Kachina dolls.

Jan was active in the Del Rio Community church and the Community Hills Christian Church in San Angelo, where she painted wall sized Murals.  She served as an elder there and gave several sermons.

Throughout her life Jan would experience several “Universal Sisters” and would be a pen pal to many good friends.

2015 would find Jan and John back in Laredo, Texas, in the home of their son and daughter-n-law.  Her husband John would eventually pass in 2017.  Jan remained in Laredo until her passing.

Jan is survived by her only child John Jefferey Witt, John's beloved wife Cynthia Y. (Cindy) Barrera Witt, grandchildren: Heather (Guerra) Perez, Ian (Valeria) Guerra, Kimberly Witt-Dozier, Brittany (Arthur) Witt-Cortez, John Ian (Brittney) Witt.  Great Grand Children:  Sydney J Perez, Alexis Layla J Perez, Santiago Guerra, Carlos Guerra, Nyah Dozier, Joshua Dozier, Austin Cortez, Alivia Cortez, Aurum Cortez, Amaryah Cortez, Airo Cortez, Aelisheva Cortez.

If Jan could, she would say to you, “Don’t cry for me, I’ve been blessed here and heaven is AWESOME!!”

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