Janet Hargis

Janet Orla Lee Hargis February 15, 1954 – July 20, 2016 Janet took her last breath on this earth Wednesday, July 20 as she knew the battle with cancer was becoming more than her physical body could endure. She was surrounded by loving family at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center when she took her wings to be with her Heavenly Father. She was born at Good Sam on February 15, 1954 to Dr. Hauton Bransford Lee, Jr. and his wife, Orla. The second of two "only children," she arrived 11 years after her brother, Leland. In her early childhood the family moved to Laramie, WY, as her dad obtained his PhD. The family lived in St. Helens and North Bend, OR for short stretches, and upon return from Laramie, stayed in Walla Walla, WA before settling on Steele Street in SE Portland. Bransford taught at Lewis & Clark College prior to taking on the position of Superintendent of Reynolds school district where she endured her high school years as the “Superintendent’s daughter.” In 1964, they moved to the residence on E Burnside. Much of her growing up years were spent at the family's cabin on the Sandy River near Dodge Park where beloved Sam Hooker and his lovely (now deceased) wife, Adele, owned the cabin next door. It was there that Janet developed her sense of adventure and her love of the great outdoors. Many nights she would lie awake in her bunk late into the wee hours listening attentively to the captivating and often heavy conversations taking place among the grown-ups in the living space in the adjacent room. Eventually, after a significant flood changed the course of the river, the cabin would be sold and Bransford built a modest place on the bluff overlooking Pacific City, on the Oregon coast. With a spectacular view of the shoreline, Haystack Rock, Cape Kiwanda, and the Nestucca River, the beach house became the destination of choice for many family weekend gatherings to explore tide pools, climb the sand dune, or just watch the dory fleet. Janet Graduated from Warner Pacific College with a Batchelor’s degree in Sociology/Psychology, with studies also at Western Oregon and Portland State universities. As a young adult, she traveled to Greece, Turkey, and Italy. She worked as an EKG technician at Emanuel Hospital and as an accountant with her brother's CPA practice. Church would play a significant role in her life and it was at Woodstock Church of God, through the introduction by her father, that she met her future husband, Bob, a young man raised on a farm an hour east of St. Louis. Bob had just two years earlier moved to Portland with his job after graduating from the University of Illinois. On April 29, 1983 they were married and in the spring of 1984 moved into their existing (then new) house in what is now Happy Valley. After marriage they traveled to Jamaica, and later to Cozumel, visiting the ancient Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza, and the Hawaiian islands. A trio of earlier auto accidents, one involving a hay truck rounding a corner and losing its load on her car that caused her to cringe and look away whenever Bob & Janet would travel and met a hay truck, and two involving her being rear-ended, once by a semi while she was stopped at a light, had taken their toll on her back. When she aggravated those prior injuries, the doctors recommended the couple pursue adoption to start their family. In June 1986, Christopher was born near Guatemala City. Janet would make the trip to get him and spent a week there before being allowed to return to the US and the loving embrace of her husband. About 2 years later they began the process of adopting a baby girl. This time, when the adoption agency called late on a Wednesday afternoon in May of 1990 with the news that they had a baby girl, there was a decision to be made. The infant girl had a twin brother and the agency did not want to separate them. Bob & Janet knew immediately that it was God's plan to take them both and Jennifer and Brian joined the family as babies. Again Janet traveled to Guatemala City, this time requiring a month to get them home. She undertook to nurture, raise, and instill confidence for life's challenges into three beautiful children who have grown to become wonderful young adults. Along the way there were many trips in the minivan for gymnastics, dance, soccer, basketball, private school, and home school. There were annual summer vacations to Detroit Lake that included trout fishing and learning to ride bikes. In 1998, she was diagnosed as having Guillain Barre’ syndrome, a rare, viral, nerve disorder that rendered her with partial paralysis. Following recovery, in 2001, a family driving vacation took them along the route of the Lewis & Clark expedition back to the St. Louis area to visit Bob's family. The return trip followed the route of the Oregon Trail. Other family driving vacations included San Diego, Las Vegas multiple times, the Grand Canyon, and a Boston to Washington DC trip via New York City. Janet was active in the church choir, participated in theatrical drama, the ladies fellowship, and Women of Faith. She also was a devout Trailblazers fan, had a love for animals, and a compassion for people. Janet was a determined fighter to the end, and would stand for a cause against all odds. She exhibited a zest for life, amazed and witnessed to many as she maintained her positive attitude throughout her physical struggles, and demonstrated an unwavering dedication to her family. In early 2010, her mother passed following a stroke and, in the summer of 2011, her father followed. She cared for both in their declining months and years. In between, she suffered a severely broken ankle, which the trauma surgeon took one look at and declared, "This is a mess." Three surgeries followed to piece her ankle back together. It was following a road trip to Rapid City, SD for a Hargis family reunion in June 2012, that it was discovered that she had stage 4 ovarian cancer. Chemotherapy started immediately and an operation ensued in November 2012 to remove a large tumor. Upon recovery, she resolved to make the most of the days she had and wanted to travel. In the summer of 2013, Bob & Janet drove to Lake Tahoe, Yosemite NP, Sequoia NP, and Big Sur, bought a brand new Mini Cooper, and took two trips down the Oregon coast, to Bandon and to Brookings. In 2014, they flew to Orlando, FL and she visited Disney World, swam with the dolphins at Sea World, and took in the new Harry Potter attraction at Universal Studios. On the same trip they visited the Kennedy Space Center and she waded in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time at Cocoa Beach, FL. There was also a trip to Coeur d’Alene, ID and Silverwood theme park to ride the roller coasters. In March 2014, she and Jennifer flew to Nashville to attend, as two of only 50 invitees, a Women of Faith retreat hosted by Patsy Clairmont. In the spring of 2015, after receiving word that the cancer was persisting, she adopted "Kenny," her new companion dog, who was at her side every minute of every day thereafter. In the summer of 2015, together with Bob, she saw Arches and Canyon Lands NPs in Utah, the Four Corners monument, and drove through Bryce Canyon, Zion NP, and across Death Valley, CA. In May of 2016, at her desire, having never seen the southern US, Bob escorted her on a three week road trip to Louisiana and the Gulf Coast at Pensacola Beach FL, with Kenny along every step of the way. One month after returning from that trip, she was hospitalized with pneumonia like symptoms and learned that the cancer had invaded the lungs. During the days that followed at Good Sam, the discussions and questions began to evolve from “WHEN is she coming home?” to “IS she coming home?” and ultimately, to “When is she GOING home?” She is survived by her husband, Robert (Bob) Hargis of 33 beautiful years of marriage; brother, Leland Lee (and wife, Esther); sons, Christopher and Brian Hargis; and daughter, Jennifer (Hargis) Kummrow (and husband, Dustin) all of Happy Valley, OR; three nieces, Kristen Lee of Redwood City, CA, Lisa (Lee) Lawson (and husband, Michael) and their two boys, Cameron and Liam, of Ione, CA, and Nancy ( Lee) Bolton (husband, Cory) and their two children, Tasman and Josephine, of Portland. A memorial celebration is planned for Monday, August 15, 2016 at 3:00 pm at the Mt. Scott Church of God, 10603 SE Henderson, Portland, OR with reception to follow. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, you might consider a donation to the Providence Cancer Center or the American Cancer Society. Service Information