Welcome to the Janet Axelrod Archive by

(2) You can share photos or documents.

berkeleystreet — 2021-12-29 15:43:07 UTC

Click the pink circle with a plus sign at the bottom right corner of the page, click the ellipsis (...), and locate the "Upload" option.

(3) You can share videos, like this one Stella made for Janet's 70th birthday.

berkeleystreet — 2021-12-29 19:16:45 UTC

Click the pink circle with a plus sign at the bottom right corner of the page, click the ellipsis (...), and locate the "YouTube" option. You can also locate the "Upload" option to include any other kind of video file.

(4) You can upload songs that Janet loved, and that you listened to with her.

berkeleystreet — 2021-12-29 19:22:55 UTC

Click the pink circle with a plus sign at the bottom right corner of the page, click the ellipsis (...), and locate the "Spotify" or "YouTube" option.

(5) You can also add important places where you spent time with Janet.

berkeleystreet — 2021-12-29 19:25:13 UTC

Click the pink circle with a plus sign at the bottom right corner of the page, click the ellipsis (...), and locate the "Location" option.

(6) You can even make a doodle in honor of Janet.

berkeleystreet — 2021-12-29 20:28:37 UTC

Click the pink circle with a plus sign at the bottom right corner of the page, click the ellipsis (...), and locate the "Drawing" option.

Here are some things you can post: (1) You can share stories and memories of Janet — which you can write or record in audio or video format.

berkeleystreet — 2021-12-29 20:33:49 UTC

Click the pink circle with a plus sign at the bottom right corner of the page, and start writing. To record an audio or video message, click the ellipsis (...) to locate the "Video Recorder" or "Audio Recorder" options.

How To Add a Post

berkeleystreet — 2021-12-29 21:35:06 UTC

1. Click the pink circle with a plus sign on the bottom right corner of the screen.

2. Write your message, and include your name!

3. If you want to include a photo, video, or something else, click the ellipsis (...) to see the full set of options.

4. When you are done, click the pink "Publish" button at the top right corner of the post.

4. For more specific instructions, read the boxes to the right --->

ahollenback — 2021-12-31 02:52:35 UTC

Surrounded by so much love at our wedding. Memories to cherish. ❤️ —Amanda & Matt

ahollenback — 2021-12-31 02:58:06 UTC

A Pesach triumph! I have so missed those gatherings these past couple of years. I hope we can say next year at Berkeley Street. ❤️ —Amanda

ahollenback — 2021-12-31 03:11:37 UTC

Meeting Shea for the first time. No one’s heart was bigger. 💕

ahollenback — 2021-12-31 03:27:43 UTC

Shea and I stopped over at Berkeley Street for a visit when we were in the neighborhood. I love Janet’s laugh at the beginning. 🥰

2021-12-31 14:57:38 UTC

For the past twelve years, Janet was my left arm and Adria's right, as we three lined up to play our surdos in SheBoom. There are no words to describe how much I will miss her soul, voice, spirit, light, sass, laugh, power, her brilliant Janet-ness.--Lesley Bannatyne

Loving and Remembering Janet!

2021-12-31 17:50:09 UTC

As Stella says in Janet’s 70th bday video, there really is a whole generation raised by her love and light! I’m so grateful and happy to be part of that generation (we’re lucky!) and to have grown up with Stella in the orbit of Janet and her life. Forever changed and empowered by that community love I grew up in. Janet made me feel so instantly appreciated just walking through the door of the house full of bright color and endless yummy snacks and made me feel like the most right thing to do was to be bold and honest and ourselves! Most recently I felt that at the CLPP fundraiser as I ate snacks and Janet loudly greeted me with a big hug. What a HUGE gift to be around. Her love for justice and fun makes me want to live a life well—fully savored and delighted in. Janet made me feel like the present and future were feminist, stylish, radical, justice-loving to be ENJOYED fully and fought for and that the journey would be exciting and bright and beautiful. I know we'll be learning from her forever! <3 Mia

Music and Politics

2022-01-01 01:15:47 UTC

I met Janet in 1974 during the formative years of Haymarket Peoples Fund. Because I was working on my first book, Rock ‘n’ Roll is Here to Pay, we talked a lot about music and politics. The front matter of the book contains a dedication page with, among others, the following dedication: “To Janet Axelrod who thinks Beatle lyrics ain’t macho.” I miss those conversations and all the interactions that followed over the next nearly half century. Janet left us a lot and she left us too early. With lotsa love, Reebee

2022-01-01 15:26:07 UTC

Ilene Karpf
I met Janet during our sophomore year at Barnard College and we remained friends for more than 50 years. I was privileged to sit with Janet and Tim when she was given richly deserved feminism award by Barnard at our 45th reunion. Janet’s passion was amazing. She always gave 100% of herself, whether it involved politics, friends, family, music, or work. During our senior year Janet chose to write her required senior thesis on the image of women in rock n roll. I often came back to our suite from afternoon classes to find Janet dancing to the Stones or the Beatles. She would look at me smiling and say that she was doing research. That smile could melt your heart. That’s how I will remember her. I will miss her.

Ilene Karpf

2022-01-01 15:33:24 UTC

Janet with Maggie Renzi at the Barnard College student center, March 1973

Ilene Karpf

2022-01-01 15:38:32 UTC

Janet with Beth Lipsey and Gracelaw Simmons at Holly House (Barnard’s cabin in the woods) February 1972. A group of us spent several weekends at Holly House during our time at Barnard. We cooked, hiked, sat in front of the massive fireplace and made memories that have lasted a lifetime.

Cape Cod with Janet, Sept. 2021

2022-01-01 15:50:21 UTC

I made this video after visiting with Janet and the fam in Truro this past summer. The last shot of Janet overlooking the setting sun over Cape Cod Bay is my favorite.

All my love to you Janet. I can't wait to sit on beaches in sweatshirts again someday soon.

Xoxo
Helena

Janet’s birthday

2022-01-01 22:58:42 UTC

Here follows a birthday note I wrote to Janet on her 65th birthday, November 1, 2016. I was pleased that she responded that it lifted her up that day. We had been friends for 45 years by then. We were friends when she left this earth last week but left her indomitable spirit behind:

Dear Janet,Today is a special day since you were born 65 years ago today.You came into the world almost five months ahead of me. Our paths did not cross until about 20 years later, when we both wandered into the Women’s Center, a place devoted to feminism and social change. We admired Annette Baxter’s pink hair and Jane Gould’s spirit. You admired Minna.
Our friendship has endured ever since, despite gaps of time. The gaps did not matter because we immediately picked up just where we left off.
For 45 years we have refined our ongoing analysis of society, capitalism, sexism, education, the Rolling Stones (JSA) and Broadway (FP). We added child rearing and the family as we went along.
We each had one boy and one girl, in that order.
We both miss our parents a lot.
It turns out both of our husbands are Jewish.
We will stand by each other as beloved comrades (cue Ronnie Gilbert) and friends even as we surmount the roadblocks that fate has placed in front of us.
There was no Barnard course on friendship and aging. We have created our own.
And now I sing you a song through the magic of computer: You're the top, you're the ColiseumYou're the top, you're the Louvre MuseumYou're the melody from a symphony by StraussYou're a Bendel bonnet, a Shakespeare sonnet, you're Mickey MouseYou're the Nile, you're the Tower of PisaYou're the smile of the Mona LisaI'm a worthless check, a total wreck, a flopBut if baby, I'm the bottom, you're the top Love on your birthday from me, Fanette

This is from Fanette Pollack, Barnard ‘73.

Janet - Holly House - 1972

2022-01-02 16:21:30 UTC

From Judi

Stella and Janet, Truro, Sept. 2021

2022-01-02 16:23:36 UTC

I got to spend a few days with Janet, Stella and Tim in Truro on Labor Day weekend in 2021. My favorite part was sitting on the rooftop and watching the sunset, talking about anything and everything.

- Helena Wiatrowski

Stella and Janet, Smith College Graduation Week

2022-01-02 16:45:09 UTC

Ivy Day at Smith, 2019

2022-01-02 16:47:30 UTC

Celebrating Stella's graduation from Smith. It was my first time spending a lot of time with J and T. It was so fun getting to celebrate alongside them. xoxo Helena

jonathanlerner — 2022-01-03 14:40:30 UTC

ROAMING THE PLANET WITH JANET

For almost all of the 45 years Janet and I were friends, we lived in different places. But we visited back and forth a lot, and traveled together many times. (She. Loved. To. Travel.) Nova Scotia by ferry. A driving tour of Civil Rights sites in Alabama. Many meet-ups in Florida (She. Hated. Cold. Weather.) (And loved the beach.) England. Spain. And many other destinations we agreed on but never managed to reach.

I used to be a magazine travel writer, and Janet tagged along on one of my ridiculously deluxe junkets, in 2007, described in the accompanying article (in which she makes a few choice comments).

Jonny Lerner

This photo is of Janet and my husband Peter, taken on the terrace of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Palma, Mallorca, in February 2017. The weather that day was sunny but cool. Janet every day was sunny but cool.

jonathanlerner — 2022-01-03 14:41:15 UTC

"I was so happy."

jonathanlerner — 2022-01-03 18:22:50 UTC

This was in Cuba, sometime in the 80s? I remember the note that came along with it. She wrote, "I was so happy."

Off kilter

jonathanlerner — 2022-01-03 18:23:58 UTC

When we toured Alabama, we stopped to see the strange and wonderful cheap, low-tech houses built by the Rural Architecture Studio, in Hale County.

2022-01-03 22:56:40 UTC

Among the many who learned from and with Janet on the Board of Grassroots International … She is missed deeply.

Janet was herself

2022-01-04 01:10:17 UTC

Janet was a lot of things. But, mostly, she was always herself -- brash, smart, thoughtful, challenging, funny, tough. I'd known her since she started working with George at Haymarket. I always knew she liked me, but I was always a bit on edge around her -- never knowing when she'd see through some comment or attitude and somehow let me know that I was bullshitting. I always knew she was right.

Steve Miller

Cousins

2022-01-05 20:47:01 UTC

3 pairs of 1st cousin sisters!

Grassroots

2022-01-05 21:58:37 UTC

I always knew of Janet but didn't know her until we were on the board together at Grassroots. She worked at Haymarket, I worked at Resist in the early 80's. Our paths overlapped but never crossed. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to get to meet and work with her for a few years at Grassroots. My impression of Janet is that she was always present and always honest.

Meredith Smith

Without Janet, I wouldn't exist, literally: she introduced my parents, and therefore was integral in creating me. On top of that, she was a cool, fun, smart, loving second mom. She taught me so much about the world, about how to be, about how not to be, about what is, and what is not. She brought clarity when there was confusion. She brought calm when there was angst. Without her, I wouldn't be the person I am today. The universe feels ripped apart without her. Its as if it can't possibly be. A world without her makes no sense. Anyone who loved or knew her at all knows we are all now lost in some way without her. Can't pick up the phone anymore and hear "hey Sammy!!" She knew it was me just from my voice. She was one of a kind and they don't makem' like that anymore, that's for sure. Her high pitched squeal of a laugh on the beach. Her commanding tone when she was enlightening you on something. We were SO lucky to know her. Now we must take each day to celebrate her life, her teachings, her joy, and all the love she always shared with all of us unconditionally, and in only the beautiful ways she knew. Something about how she said hi, how she said goodbye, her love so real. Even when we hugged last, it lingered, just because. Just one of the zillion things we'll miss. I could go on and on. So many stories. I will cherish the memories forever. We'll always miss you so much Janet. We thank you for all you did for everyone. So kind. So thoughtful. Bigger than life you were. Thank you. -Sam D

2022-01-05 23:58:45 UTC

rest in power ant Janet

2022-01-06 00:01:55 UTC

I took this photo when I was just a little kid on my first camera. We were at taunta Milly's at one of the many wonderful annual family bashes. In this moment you can see the energy she gave off. It brightened ones day. Made you laugh. Caught you off guard... her positivity was intoxicating and quite contagious. Boy will we miss it and all the other millions of great traits she had and shared willingly and lovingly with everyone she touched in her journey. -Sam D

2022-01-06 00:10:46 UTC

A picture tells a thousand words - 3 generations here. With the coming of Eli, Janet found a new grace and meaning in life. She was SUCH a wonderful mother. Her power and influence grew with her family and love. <3 Photo cred to Mom, Carol, her sis. - Sam D

thinking of Janet..

2022-01-07 00:39:35 UTC

When I met Janet, 1986, she didn't have children and she wasn't married.

For some reason the notes (acupuncture) that I have start in 2005. (I must have tossed earlier files housecleaning) Generally she came for treatment periodically - when something was bothering her. - before breast cancer.

One of the main things that I remember is that she talked about her mother's death and the impact that it had on her. That she still wasn't over it.

And then as time went on she and Tim got married and they went on to have 2 children. Being a mother was the most important part of Janet's life and she was a wonderful mother.. Loving, warm and nurturing.

I knew the warm and loving side of Janet, as did everyone - she was warm and loving - and of course her sense of humor. She could always end up laughing at what many times was a difficult situation.

Her cancer however took a cruel toll on her...

And a cruel toll on everyone who loved her.

Joyce

AMANdla: Festival of Unity

2022-01-08 21:42:53 UTC

Sometime in 1978, Janet and I were at a anti-apartheid demonstration at Deak-Perera, a now defunct company that was dealing in South African Krugerrands at the time. When it started to rain, Janet and I ducked into a nearby doorway and she said to me: “Ya know, we outta do a benefit concert to raise consciousness and funds for Southern Africa.” A year or so later on July 21, 1979, a small collective of activists produced AMANdla: Festival of Unity featuring Bob Marley in Harvard Stadium. The above photograph includes some members of the AMANdla Production Group, from left Shelley, George, Kazi, myself, and, of course, Janet. Most conspicuously absent is Janine Fay, only because I don’t have a photograph of the group with her in it.

There is a page on the Bob Marley website entitled "4 Concerts That Made Bob Marley A Legend." AMANdla is listed as #3. It was a life changing experience for many who attended, including everyone in the production group. Organizing AMANdla provided everyone involved with a lifetime of stories to tell. Some combination of Janet’s input, leadership, support, outrage, and/or common sense, figures prominently in just about all of them.

Reebee

Holly House

2022-01-09 11:55:00 UTC

We had so much fun at Holly House - a bunch of urbanites trying to make it in the woods - that we still talk about 50 years later!

Cambridge Public Library

2022-01-09 16:41:57 UTC

Dear Patrons,

I hope your new year is off to a promising beginning.

It is with sorrow that I write today. One of our longstanding Library champions, Janet Axelrod, passed away on December 26. Janet was the chair of the Board of Library Trustees. She was also one of the founders of the Cambridge Public Library Foundation. Janet was the very best board chair. She cared deeply about accessible library services, the freedom to read, and the privacy rights of users. She understood the complexities of a public library. She was committed to social justice, civil rights, and equity and inclusion work, and she greatly appreciated the staff of the Library and its volunteers.

Janet was first appointed to the Board in 1994. In September 1999, she was elected chair of the Board and in that capacity not only led the Board but also served as a thoughtful adviser to the Director of Libraries. I was honored to serve with Janet and to call her my friend. Rest in peace, dear Janet.

A thoughtful colleague reminded me that sorrow and joy are inextricably linked, including in life and death. I think if I had asked Janet about this, she would have agreed and said to make sure we celebrated the natural beauty in all of it as well.

2022-01-09 16:44:23 UTC

What is a song that comes to mind when you think of Janet?

berkeleystreet — 2022-01-09 18:30:40 UTC

What is something Janet taught you?

berkeleystreet — 2022-01-09 18:30:56 UTC

What is a word you would use to describe Janet?

berkeleystreet — 2022-01-09 18:31:53 UTC

Janet announcing that little Stella was on her way to the world

2022-01-10 18:53:06 UTC

I had known Janet for a while when one winter night, many families were gathering at the Cambridge Public Library, outside, around the Tree for Peace. She greeted me and asked how I was doing. I told her that I was happy, that our second child would join our family next May. She looked at me with sparkles in her eyes and said, "our family too will welcome a little one next May". "Really?" I said, " our little one's due date is May 17". Janet, more sparkles in her eyes responded, " ours' too!" And so they did, Clio and Stella were born a few hours apart on May 17. Stella, true story!
Dominique Stassart

2022-01-11 20:03:14 UTC

You can see it in the black and white photo of Janet at 25 that Tim shared at the Shiva and is on this website—what I came to think of as Janet’s “wha?” look: slightly squinted eyes and a half smile--feisty, skeptical, quizzical, ready to take on the world. I didn’t know Janet back then, but I was lucky enough to know a more recent version of that look of hers. For the past decade or so, Janet and I shared with six other women the weekly joy of standing shoulder to shoulder playing drums as part of SheBoom, Cambridge/ Somerville’s only postmenopausal Brazilian drumming and vocal ensemble.

Janet understood the intimate connection of music and movements. (Amandla! The Highlander Center, Eyes on the Prize to name a few of the iconic projects she worked on) And she clearly delighted in being in a band that was a vehicle for publicly sharing her political views. The SheBoom song creation process is to put together songs that are pastiches of Brazilian rhythms, with protest songs from the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, and our favorite rock and roll standards—substituting new verses that reflect our political hopes and fears. When I’d look over and see that “wha?” look on Janet’s face, or it’s cousin, the “fuck ‘em if they can’t take a joke” look, I’d know we were tapping into a productive vein of material.

Another of my favorite memories of those song creation sessions was of Janet launching into verse after verse of an old favorite—like Mr. Postman (which became a song about mail-in ballots) or Don’t Fence Me in (which became a song about urban over-development). This past Fall, as we were trying to figure out whether to use Dancin’ in the Street, and I was looking up the words, Janet sang the entire song from memory. In fact, Janet knew the words to more songs than I could remember the names of.

Sometimes in mid-performance we’d steal a look at each other and we’d know that we were each thinking: “Can you believe that we are getting to do this?” Of course, like any band we had our share of disagreements about what to sing about and when, whether and for whom to perform (see the film, Get Back for the Beatles version of this phenomenon). I will never forget how Janet somehow managed to convince the other seven of us that it was a good idea to participate in her D’var (sermon) at Workman’s Circle Rosh Hashanah, by getting up on the bimah with our drums and playing a few songs for the assembled congregation of over 300 people.

Janet brought her whole self to everything she did—whether it was drumming, co-founding an organization, serving on Boards, developing the plans and funds for the main branch of the Cambridge Library, or making a delicious dish for a potluck. She was also one of the most kind and generous people I have ever known. I first came to see this side of Janet many years ago when she and Tim opened their hearts and their home to Jackie Shearer, a mutual friend who was in the final stages of colon cancer. Eli was a young child then, and Tim and Janet were juggling parenting with various movement projects and jobs. Yet they were able to create a loving, peaceful space where Jackie—who had moved to NY-- could return to Cambridge/Boston and be close to old friends and family as her health declined.

We are all fortunate that Janet shared so freely of herself, because it means that she is still with us--as we write protest songs, as we sing our favorite rock and roll standards, as we raise funds for grassroots organizing, as we tell jokes, as we make meals for our families, and especially as we take care of one another. I will always be grateful for the sisterhood we shared--
Adria Steinberg

Camp visit!

2022-01-12 04:34:23 UTC

I always looked forward to seeing Janet when she visited camp! I remember walking around with her and Stella while Tim took photos. Here’s one! I don’t know what my mom was saying here but it must have been a wild story- I love the look on Janet’s face

- Abby

Always in the middle of good trouble

2022-01-12 21:07:20 UTC

Janet was a force of nature, to be sure, and also a wise, fierce and diligent Board member.

Even after living in Cambridge for more than 40 years, Janet still exuded her Bronx-ness in directness, humor and energy. She brought all of that to her work for social justice, of which Grassroots International is one chapter in a long and storied history. Her engagement spanned from co-founding South Africa Partners, participating in the production of “Eyes on the Prize,” fundraising to build a state-of-the-art library in Cambridge, drumming with Sheboom (and taking Brazilian drumming lessons), serving as the first staff member of Haymarket People’s Fund, and participating in Grassroots International’s first donor engagement group on Palestine several years ago.

We knew Janet would be a perfect fit to join the board in 2016 when, during a meeting, she succinctly described in one sentence the work of Grassroots International with powerful clarity and some humor as “a one-stop shop for funding anti-imperialist work.”

Even as her cancer returned this last year, Janet stayed engaged. She showed up, prepared, for the Personnel Committee meetings redrafting our personnel policies, and participated in Board meetings the day after receiving chemo. She did it because she wanted to do it, and there was no stopping Janet! Somehow it also feels meaningful that Janet died the same day as Desmond Tutu, a giant of the struggle to end apartheid in South Africa, a struggle so central in Janet’s own work.

After a lifetime dedicated to creating a better world, including with us at Grassroots International, we have no doubt that the path Janet has prepared will continue forward.

Janet Axelrod, presente!

- Chung-Wha Hong, Maria Aguiar and Carol Schachet

Janet's voice

2022-01-12 23:01:43 UTC

Just before the 2020 election SheBoom put together a video of a "go vote" song. This was a time when mail-in ballots were in the news because of extra slow delivery. You'll hear Janet throughout, but especially during the Mr. Postman section. Gorgeous Janet with a gorgeous voice.--Lesley B. for SheBoom

Janet had big opinions but she wasn’t judgmental. Janet was incredibly funny, but never at anyone’s expense. Janet and Tim opened their home for countless fundraisers, moving hundreds of thousands of dollars to movements for change. I met Janet early on since I too worked at Haymarket People’s Fund but it was over the last decade that we grew closer. From Janet I learned to be more truthful, more direct, and more generous. I also learned that un-matched dishes are best. Since she died, I have told several people who didn’t know her what she was like, sending along a contemporary photo of Janet as well as one from the mid-1970’s. One of my friends, referring to the latter photo, called her “staggeringly sexy.” I must agree. I miss her but will always be able to hear her voice, her wisdom and her laugh. Pam Rogers

2022-01-13 14:49:52 UTC

The Lotus Connection

2022-01-15 09:35:14 UTC

Janet was, to put it simply, a powerhouse. A friend and former Lotus colleague, Joyce Bartlett, described her as “a force to be reckoned with,” also an apt description. But Janet also had the biggest, warmest heart—she cared VERY deeply about people and wanted to make a difference in their lives. She was super-smart, funny and loved to laugh. And she was the most authentic person I ever met in my life.

Janet was also my first corporate boss; she hired me as the 15^th employee of Lotus in 1982, right before its skyrocketing ascendancy to the top of the international software business market with 1-2-3. As a founder of Lotus, Janet was a bit of a misfit in the corporate world, something I identified with then and throughout my career. I believe that because of Janet, Lotus was able to make a truly unique and special contribution to U.S. corporate culture—a major part Louts’ success story.

Back in the early 80’s, it was Janet’s vision and warrior nature that helped Lotus stay on track with its rock-solid commitments to equality at Lotus--racial, gender and sexual orientation—this was back before it was remotely recognized in business. She was adamant about racism and white privilege decades before it became popular.

While it is entirely fitting that she died the same day as another activist, Desmond Tutu, Janet was taken from us far too early. She spent her life up to the very end trying to make a difference in this troubled world of ours. Besides Lotus, Janet was influential in the historic PBS series, “Eyes on the Prize;” the Haymarket People’s Fund; the Cambridge Massachusetts Public Library; and Grassroots International.

I’m heartbroken by this news. Her loss must be incalculable to her family, Tim Plenk, her husband, and their kids, Eli and Stella Plenk, her sister Carol and family, and the family of many hundreds of people that also felt a kinship with Janet. I loved Janet and will always be grateful to her. Godspeed, my friend!

--Marilynn Considine

2022-01-17 21:55:46 UTC

The amount of people who have called Janet a second mother or a surrogate parent speaks volumes. She will be greatly missed ❤️ Simone

Memories of Janet

arnolddreyblatt — 2022-01-31 20:42:20 UTC

In 2013, Eli was a visiting fellow with Humanity in Action in Berlin and he stayed at our house. It was through this visit that we met the Plenk family when we came to Boston.

Janet remains such a strong spirit in our memories and we will never forget her. She welcomed our son Noah into her home and gave him tremendous support when he stayed on Berkeley Street for a half year. I (Arnold) felt an instant connection as I recognized that feisty energy and natural warmth of an outgoing Jewish New Yorker, and even felt the strong kinship of a long-lost relative! Janet was an inspiring activist in its deepest sense, she made things happen, she brought people together to enact change and she passed on her values on to her two wonderful children. She had a vision of a society based on justice, which she strived to realize in the world around her, her community, her friends, and in local institutions. Even in the face of challenging political developments and recent personal hardships she never lost her infectious optimism that change will no doubt come.

It is so hard to imagine that she is no longer with us and that her life was cut so short.

May her memory be for us all a blessing.

- - Arnold, Petra and Noah Lior Dreyblatt, Berlin

Cambridge Public Library

2022-02-13 23:46:41 UTC

To Janet’s Family and Friends:

Please accept me deepest sympathies.

I have such fond and wonderful memories of Janet during the process for the new library. It was becoming and long and drawn out process with no end in sight. It was Janet and others passion that got us to a decision. And in the end a wonderful library was built that will serve the people of Cambridge for generations.

You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Sincerely,

Michael Sullivan

2022-02-16 00:04:25 UTC

I only had the pleasure of meeting and staying with Janet once, when she graciously opened her home to me and my friend when we were briefly in Cambridge to visit Eli. I had heard so much about her from my dear friend Eli, and was struck by how casual and warm she was for a woman who had done and achieved so much in her life. I remember seeing a photo of her with Nelson Mandela and being blown away that someone of her stature would have any interest in knowing who I was and what my interests were. Janet was generous, and kind, and so genuine in her interactions with me that week. I already admired her before I met her, having heard about her career and activism from Eli. After meeting her I admired her even more. Despite being such a force of nature, she was authentically curious about those around her. She made me feel seen and valued and listened to. I feel privileged to be connected to her, however tangentially, through a lineage of change makers that is most beautifully embodied by her incredibly children, Eli and Stella. -Chelsea Halstead

2022-02-18 22:41:11 UTC

I was saddened to learn that Janet had passed away. I remember first meeting Janet (one of three Janet's at KO!) and Tim at King Open when our children were little -- a powerhouse activist couple who truly embraced the social justice mission statement held by the KO community. While at first completely intimidated by Janet's conviction when making a point, I began to really appreciate her wry whit and truly authentic feminist views. Before Facebook, it would not be unusual to receive email requests to help support important causes. Her Facebook page is a window into her world full of opportunities to help change the world. Janet and Tim together were kind and generous to their circle of friends and community. Tim my heart goes out to you and I'm so sorry that you've lost your partner. Eli and Stella I'm so sorry that you've lost your mother -- what a force of life she was. May warm memories of Janet sustain you all when you need it most.
Peace to you all, Janet Malenfant

Reading about Janet’s remarkable life and the deep impact she had on the hearts and souls of others is perhaps one of the most moving experiences of my life. I so deeply value this collection of stories. And at the moment I am overwhelmed with appreciation. I believe that for the rest of my life I will return to this site to experience the range of emotions this has brought forth in me. But let me add a few stories from my times with Janet.

2022-02-18 23:34:55 UTC

I remember running into Janet on the Park Street platform one evening when we may have been in our 30’s. I was coming from work and she was returning, quite exhausted she added, from a day at the joint. I had no idea what she was talking about but the tone of her voice told me I should not make some wisecrack implying the joint was a gym. It was years before I discovered Janet was spending time, doing lord knows what, at a prison. After this encounter we spent years involved in parallel play, never deeply connecting but often sharing political space. We met up somehow, and I remember not where, and had this delicious conversation about co directing the Cambridge Community Foundation! To this day I think with a giggle about what a job we would have done and how much fun we would have had doing it. My final valued memory, at the moment, are the times we spent together after her cancer reappeared. I don’t know how to share them except to wish that there had been many more of them.

I send hugs and fondest appreciation to all who have contributed to this extraordinary remembrance. And offer my support to the family. Jean Entine

A special friendship

2022-02-19 16:51:41 UTC

Janet! How can this be? A few months have passed and I'm still having a hard time grasping it.

I do want folks to know how much pleasure and inspiration I took from Janet’s example. The full-on way she supported Blackside, and our dear friend Jackie Shearer in her time of need. The way she kept fighting so many good fights with passion and good humor. Her warmth - and Tim’s - always made me feel cared for and at home. All those conversations around the kitchen table; always so much more to talk about than there was time. And the joy she took in her family! Such a generous, caring, life-loving person. Everyone should be so lucky to have a Janet among their friends. Rest in peace, dear friend. Your admirer, Sam Sills

She was fantastic

2022-02-20 17:00:11 UTC

My husband Bob Lewis had the fortune to have worked with Janet on a video project at Lotus, and sang praise on her character and energy. I much later, got to know her working with Blackside, organizing community showings of Eyes on the Prize for Boston's Asian American communities. I was in awe of her dedication on social political values. I was granted further association with her through Shirley Mark. It was clear that Janet was one who did in what counts and never had just the intention of doing. I am sure she boomed.
Helen Lewis

Tim, I am so sorry to hear about this. Avram Barlowe

2022-02-28 02:30:51 UTC

How can she be gone

2022-03-01 15:57:24 UTC

I just found out that Janet is gone from an email from the Cambridge Public Library. I never knew her well, but when I was producing my documentary "What Makes Me White?" she opened her beautiful home to us so we could film our interviews. Every room in that house was filled with bright colors -just a pleasure to walk in and experience it. We overran her broad living room, her kitchen, her hallway, and all because she believed in what we were doing - challenging white people to think about ourselves as racialized beings. What I always noticed about her was her keen questioning - she wanted to know what I was about, if I could be trusted politically and artistically. But most of all, she was a foundational person in the progressive communities of Boston. I cannot imagine this world without her. Thank you, Janet. I send condolences to all her family and friends.

2022-03-08 05:19:46 UTC

In 2020, Janet and I reconnected, when she sent me letters I'd written to her over 40 years ago. I'm so glad we did; through our emails I rediscovered the wit, grit, love and passion that made her so quintessentially Janet. The last was on December 10, and in retrospect it's amazing that she had the energy for even a few words. Her convening power lives on, as Barnard friends come together virtually to remember her, and as this wonderful tribute bears witness.

Sheila Reines

Thank You, Janet!

2022-03-25 15:00:38 UTC

When I worked at South Africa Partners, it was my first job out of college. Mary Tiseo, Marti Wilson-Taylor, and Janet took me under their wing and taught me so much about work--and about life! I could never thank them enough. Janet and Tim were so kind to let me house sit and while I thought I was helping them, I now realize that they were helping me--giving me a warm and cozy place to feel at home in. We had so many wonderful events at Janet's and she always welcomed me with open arms. I see in many of these comments that Janet was like a mother to so many--and I feel that she was, for me, too. Please know how much that meant to me. Warmly, Brenna (DeCotis) Melo, worked at South Africa Partners 2008-2014

Janet was the first HR director to actively listen to employee issues. I am grateful to have worked in the environment she established at Lotus Development. Thank you for all you did for us.

2022-05-04 21:32:32 UTC

Franklin St in Riverside, my office.

2022-08-17 03:49:45 UTC

To Janet

joycepsinger — 2022-09-04 12:26:46 UTC

“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." - T. S. Eliot quotes

2022-09-14 16:36:28 UTC

Janet and I met on our first day of college, next door neighbors in single dorm rooms. We lived together for the next 3 years at Barnard and for 5 years in communal houses in Winchester and Cambridge, and we stayed friends for 52+ years.

This photo is from our 10^th reunion. We’ve since laughed about those broad ‘80s shoulders! It makes me think about our college friendship.

There was always music coming from Janet’s room -- Dylan, Joan Baez, the Stones, the Beatles – and she knew the words to every protest song. For her 18^th birthday a few of us chipped in to buy her “Abbey Road,” which had just come out, and she engaged passionately in the cafeteria debate about whether Paul was, in fact, dead. We all coveted her amazing Sgt. Pepper jacket, though to be honest I can’t imagine anyone but Janet wearing it. And I can’t hear “Superstition” without seeing her dancing with Kenny at CDR on Thursday nights in our junior and senior years.

For two years in the dorms she and I shared a phone line: two phone jacks side-by-side in her room, with one of the cords going out her window and along the ledge into my window next door. I can’t bear to think how we did that safely, but I do remember that because our windows couldn’t close all the way our rooms were always drafty, and sometimes a bit snowy! When her mother called, she’d always ask “Janet?” in her deep Southern accent, then we’d chat a bit before I banged on the wall to let Janet know it was for her.

We had so much fun together! On nice days we hung out on Barnard lawn to catch rays and people-watch, and in cold/wet weather we scurried through the basement tunnels to get to meals or class. We were in the mandatory first-year Movement class together, taught by the wonderful Jeanette Roosevelt, and we’d race each other around the track on the balcony above the gym, her bracelets jingling as she ran, then Janet would regularly fall asleep during guided relaxation!

Mrs. Roosevelt later invited Janet and me to lunch at her house in the Village, where we met her famous then-husband Curtis and listened intently to “A Day in the Life” to see if we could hear that final chord’s end! And in our senior year we took “Mrs. Roosie’s” History of Dance class together, and sat in the back giggling uncontrollably when Janet heard a guest lecturer’s pronunciation of “hierarchy” as “parakeet!”

Janet introduced me to so much, including fresh artichokes during a weekend visit to Holly House, Barnard’s rustic camp located up the Taconic Parkway in Westchester County; a smattering of Yiddish that I still use; B.B. King backstage after one of his NYC concerts (how did she know him, anyway!?); angel chimes; progressive political analysis; and Azuma, a magical store in the Village where we shopped for Christmas presents together freshman year, and where I fell in love with the “lady bottles,” glass bottles with figurative arms on the base/body and broad female heads as stoppers. Janet surreptitiously bought one and gave it to me for Christmas; I’m glad I recently told her that I still have it, a cherished symbol of our friendship’s longevity.

We were about the same size and build, so we shared clothes over the years, which generally meant that I borrowed from the tamer side of her closet (her cousin Paul’s tweedy sports jacket!) and she from the bolder side of mine. She taught me that red and orange and purple actually do go together … at least on her! One night at Barnard we got dressed up – skirts rather than our usual jeans – for some special something, and realized when we stood at her mirror that we looked alike, but opposite: her long straight hair dark and mine light, her outfit bright and mine pale … and we decided we were like “salt and pepper,” different but a pair.

For the last couple of decades, we organized our dates around sales at the studio of a clothing designer we both liked. We’d shop and lunch, or one or the other … and of course we ran into someone Janet knew, every time!

Though we messaged often since, the last time we saw each other was just before the pandemic began, and just before Janet’s cancer returned. We spent a lovely couple of hours at a little Mexican restaurant, talking and laughing and catching up on our “kids” and our lives. Janet had other plans afterward, so I continued to the studio sale alone, where I bought a shirt I remain skeptical about, because Janet wasn’t there to say “Madame, it’s you!”

Oh, how I miss her. -- Gracelaw

Janet!

2022-09-17 12:16:17 UTC

Well, writing something fantastic isn't hard! I first met Janet in the mid-1990's when I was appointed co-chair, with Deputy City Manager Rich Rossi, of the Library 21 Committee. The City Manager appointed a group of residents to assess the need for and to develop a program for an expanded Cambridge public library. The public process was long and difficult--this is Cambridge after all--but the Committee and the Trustees stuck with it. Janet was a library trustee and, of course, brought every ounce of her considerable energy to this project. Our beautiful, award winning library opened in 2009. It is, just as we had hoped, the civic heart of this amazing community. I became a Trustee in 1999 and served on the board with Janet until the day she died. I miss her sharp wit and sharper insights; I miss her deep commitment to and her understanding of the value of public libraries. Thank you Janet!
Nancy Woods

2022-09-17 16:21:38 UTC

Janet with Eli, Sam, and Emma in Puerto Rico

SheBoom

2022-09-17 16:54:03 UTC

I first met Janet in the basement of the startUp Lotus back in 1981. I had just graduated from Berklee and she hired me through "Manpower" to work as support staff. Fast forward 30+ years when we met again when I helped SheBoom as vocal coach. How did I have such good fortune to have known such a vibrant, dedicated, whole heartedly soulful great human being as Janet? My good fortune and also all who knew her. Let's pass along her positivity, laughter and work ethos for the common good to all we meet. I miss you Janet! Big love, Ruthie Ristich

Grilling in the rain for Eli's birthday 2021

2022-09-17 17:50:30 UTC

We had such a lovely gathering last year for Eli's birthday. Unsurprisingly, Janet was a huge part of making it so.
--Lily C-C

Blessed memories

2022-09-17 19:59:46 UTC

There are few people in this lifetime who've had a profound and lasting impact so many. I feel lucky to have been introduced to Janet when we were all so young. She brought light love and laughter wherever she went. Thank you for sharing your joy and enthusiasm for life, Janet. Time spent with you was a blessing.

Remembering Janet

2022-09-18 18:11:33 UTC

Wonderful celebration yesterday of the many facets of Janet and her life. In an attempt to be succinct, 3 words come to mind in thinking about her: caring, sharing, and swearing.

Doug and Judy W.

The beautiful Plenk/Axelrod clan

2022-09-18 21:09:27 UTC

We loved all of the program you guys put together remembering Janet’s remarkable life and personality. As tim and others said, a wonderful loving person taken too soon from us. We remember the many times we stayed with you, and sat around the kitchen table eating great food and talking endlessly, celebrating Passover with a seder in your dining room, and bopping around town. While I listened to Stella and Eli speak so poignantly from their hearts I could not help reflecting on some similarities between our families. Of course, Stella is only a week older than Natalie, but Stella’s relationship with Janet struck me as being almost identical to Natalie’s relationship with Katherine (being daily confidants and friends as well as mother/daughter, setting a remarkable standard for loving and activism for social justice). Eli describing Janet’s steadfast belief in him and support throughout his awkward growth periods and medical and learning challenges, and her ceaseless research of how to understand and help him, reminded me of our own experience with Gideon, trying to understand and find the best support for the many challenges he has and continues to face. Janet lives on through you, and is reflected in the lives you all live, and her spirit and guidance will continue to be with you even in the difficult and painful times.

Love to you all, with our regrets for not being there in person. We will plan a visit soon.

Kenny and Katherine

2022-09-20 19:01:18 UTC

On behalf of Stone House (formerly Elizabeth Stone House) of Roxbury, MA, we extend our condolences. For more than a decade, Janet donated a significant amount of funds to our work helping survivors of domestic violence. In reading her obituary, it appears we were one of many lucky recipients of her support and impact. Upon receiving the news of her passing to remove her from our mailing list, we realized she was our first ever major individual donor. For that, we are particularly grateful. Again, our condolences. -Jill Murphy Hess, Interim Chief Development Officer, Stone House

With Appreciation and Love for Janet

2022-09-21 21:39:18 UTC

I met Janet in 2005 when I was the Director of the Highlander Center. It was October, and she and Tim were hosting a fundraising house party, attended by Rep. John Lewis.

Warm. Fun. Friendly. Smart. Energetic. I loved her immediately! She was always there to have a conversation and check in … talk about the work, what she was doing, our take on things happening in the world, our families.

She was also thoughtful and active about introducing Highlander to potential donors. I remember when this one person kept bringing me back for more and more conversation, and one time asked, ’well how do we build a Highlander of the North,’ and Janet said ’this Highlander is the Highlander of the North!’

For all the house parties and other Boston area events, phone calls, cups of coffee or tea around her table, and also thankful to stay in touch after leaving Highlander, perhaps one of my favorite memories is the time late in my tenure when she hosted me overnight at her and Tim’s home ….. I was actually planning to go back out to an event (non-Highlander related), but instead we crawled up on a pull-out couch and watched a tv show we both were excited to know the other watched. It was so much fun … and replenishing!

I regret I was not able to be at the celebration of life in person but hung on every powerful, loving word said and sung. How beautiful and moving to witness testimony of loved ones who so clearly and fully saw, and celebrated, Janet!

For a year, I said Janet’s name in my form of morning prayer. And now, Janet Axelrod, Presente!

Pam McMichael

Thinking of Janet a lot today

2022-09-22 12:32:56 UTC

Thinking of Janet this morning as I do often. Was looking through old pictures and found this sweet one I took on a summer trip Stella invited me on to Truro during high school. Janet is one of the most special and unforgettable people I've ever known or will ever know. Love you Stell and miss you Janet ❤️

What a moving, soulful celebration of Janet that was last weekend! She was there! That spirit of hers, I expect, will be circling around for a long time to come. I first met Janet in the apartment I shared with two good friends in Inman Square back in 1975. My dear friend (to this day) David brought her over. I think they were doing Puerto Rican Solidarity work together, if I recall correctly. Turns out another of my dearest friends, Tony, also knew Janet, even earlier, when he was a freshman at Yale and she was at Hamden High. Go figure. My experience with Janet is more recent, centering on Boston Workers Circle stuff of every variety. Suffice it to say that I just enjoyed being around her, the whole package that she was, and we both enjoyed the funny fact that we were also connected by her history 50 or more years ago that included two of my closest buddies in the world. I send my love to her, and to the whole Plenk/Axelrod family. So do Dave and Tony. xox Mike Felsen

2022-09-23 00:17:27 UTC