An Extraordinary Life: Plainfield woman's heart was 'in being a mom'

Like her mother, Janet Palmisano of Plainfield, Jennifer Joho struggles with anxiety. Janet channeled her energy into her home and kept it spotless. Jennifer opened J.Joho Boutique in downtown Plainfield.

But nervous energy didn’t define Janet. Positive energy did.

Nicole Evanoff of Joliet, another of Janet’s four children, said Janet “had this presence about her” that made people want to approach her.

“She was very outgoing, very loving,” Nicole said. “You could go to her with anything, and she’d give the best advice. She was always there. My mother was just a beautiful person inside and out. She’d give you the shirt off her back. She had over 1,000 people at her wake just to visit and pay their respects because that was the type of person she was. She was amazing.”

Jennifer agreed.

“She could make anyone feel welcomed and loved,” Jennifer said. “She was the easiest person to talk to.”

Then, out of seemingly nowhere, Janet was diagnosed with mesothelioma in her stomach lining.

“She went from being completely normal to having this hit us like a ton of bricks,” Jennifer said. “She had this silent killer inside of her. And within three months, she was gone.”

Janet was diagnosed Jan. 21, 2013, and died March 26, 2013, at age 52. Jennifer was married in March a year later.

“She was really my best friend,” Jennifer said. “It was a very difficult time for me, and still is six years later. She was always my biggest fan, my biggest supporter. She was behind everything I decided to do. When I lost her, I really felt like I had lost everything.”

Although Janet helped Jennifer pick out her wedding dress, much of Jennifer’s wedding planning was done at Janet’s chemotherapy sessions, Jennifer said.

For 18 years, Janet worked in such roles as a lunchroom supervisor and study hall monitor in Plainfield School District 202, where her children attended school, Jennifer said.

“She always wanted to be with her kids,” Jennifer said.

When her children saw her, they’d call out, “Hi, Mom!” So the other students began calling Janet “Mom,” too, Jennifer said. And Janet lived up to the title.

“If you were a kid in trouble, she wanted to help you,” Jennifer said. “And if you were a scholar, she was there to praise you. It didn’t matter who you were. She was always there. She’d listen, and a lot of people appreciated her.”

Janet grew up in Chicago as the second oldest girl in a family of six children and attended the former Notre Dame High School for Girls, where she had a reputation for being sweet, Jennifer said.

“Her mom used to say she was the best baby,” Jennifer said, “because you could dress her up in a dress and put her down and come back and she’d still be in the same position. She was a very calm, sweet, well-mannered person.”

Janet also had a beautiful singing voice, Jennifer said. During high school, Janet sang in cover bands for musical productions at her church.

But Janet stopping singing in shows around the time she met her husband, Enrico, because “her heart was in being a mom and raising a big family,” Jennifer said.

Janet felt the worst part about having cancer was that it prevented her from enjoying other grandchildren as they arrived and watching them grow up, Jennifer said.

“She was blessed that she got to have one, my son,” Jennifer said. “Her world revolved around him.”

Jennifer said the family was present when Janet received her cancer diagnosis. Janet’s response was to look at her family and ask, “Are you guys OK?”

“She was more worried about everyone else,” Jennifer said.

• To feature someone in “An Extraordinary Life,” contact Denise M. Baran-Unland at 815-280-4122 or dunland@shawmedia.com .