Janet G. Lawley

In the middle of the Great Depression, Dr. Weiss was summoned to the Wheatley home in downtown Akron on an early Spring March 20th Tuesday of 1934. Janet Gloria Wheatley was born at 5:45AM to Donald R. Wheatley and Gwendolyn Durbin Wheatley (originally from PA). Living near the barge traffic of the Ohio Canal in central Akron, Ohio at the time of their second daughter's birth; Don and Gwen went on to move to Bell Street just west of downtown.

As she grew to school age, Janet would sit on her large front porch and watch the world of busy Bell Street pass by their steps. The "Ice Man" in his big truck would come every few days to deliver a heavy block of ice for the family's wooden ice box in the kitchen. He'd always stop at the porch on warm Summer days and chip off a large chunk of ice for Janet and Ruth to enjoy, as if a piece of candy. Other days the "Popcorn Man" would round the corner at Wooster Ave. and push his 2 wheel cart up Bell Street calling: "popcorn for sale" while blowing the cart's steam whistle. He really didn't need to say a word; everyone knew he was coming their way simply from the wind driven smell of his freshly popped snack. By far the most curios pedaler was the ragman. The "Ragman" had a cart of 4 legs under a shallow wooden platform piled high with rags of many textures and colors. He was dressed in little more than rags himself and would call out: "RAGS, any RAGS today?", as he made his way through the streets, always seeming to collect but never selling. The next block over was Bornstein's Mom & Pop Grocery; where Gwen would send Janet for eggs. At Bornstein's the small eggs were piled loosely in a basket on the counter and Mr. Bornstein would carefully retrieve each egg placing them in a small paper sack of no more than 6 eggs per bag. "Be very careful" he'd repeat as 6 year old Janet walked out the door of his store guarding her purchase, and feeling very grown up.

In the evenings Janet would search out her Dad, who she adored, to watch him draw and sketch pictures while she sat in a nearby chair trying not to fall asleep. Don would be at his drafting table pencil in hand for hours, the only light in the room coming from his old metal goose neck table lamp. Father watching his daughter sleep; Daughter watching her Father draw... all the while both dreaming of him becoming an artist. Don a lover of art, would sketch everywhere he went; on table tops, napkins, envelopes, any surface was fair game for a Donald Wheatley original.

Janet and Ruth attended Howe Grade School; walking home for a lunch of buttered macaroni or "bej-a-ta-ble" soup. On weekends the 2 little girls walked to the "Ideal Movie Theater" down Wooster Ave. while Gwen and Grandma Durbin played bingo. The girls sat through hours of monster movies and news reels, reenacting each one for their parents when Janet arrived home.

When 1940 arrived the family of 4 moved to the farm community of Tallmadge Township, Ohio. Don built a small white 4 room house, moving his family in before its completion. As a house warming gift Mom Wheatley gave her son an electric refrigerator with its large turban like coils that sat on top and hummed loudly struggling to keep the families' food cold. Months after moving in, Don had a telephone line extension strung from Newton Street at the Akron boundary to their home on Perry Road in Tallmadge. The new "Exchange" created was "Marshall-2230" which became a 10 party line. Ten families sharing one telephone line from Akron. The new phone was the only phone for miles around causing visits from distant neighbors to make calls at the little white home on a dirt path named Perry Road in Tallmadge. Being surrounded by farms the family farmed their own 4 acres and raised yard chickens for eggs and poultry. The Bordens Milkman, Nickles Bakery Truck and Salem Potato Chip Man would all stop by to gossip, have a cup of coffee and use the outhouse before continuing on their daily routes. On Janet's 10th birthday, her Dad surprised her with a new 2 wheeled bike; causing little Janet to erupt into tears of joy causing everyone present to cry along with her. While Janet was still 10 in 1944 another great gift was given her; a baby brother ( Donn ). Two years later in 1946 another sister was added (Kayann) and at that the family was complete.

While in Tallmadge High School, Janet's steady boy friend of 3 years was Jim McGuire ( Mack ) who she adored. She was voted runner up for the High School "Annual Queen" by celebrity Tony Curtis, and was voted the "Best Figure" of the Class of 1953. After graduation Janet went to work at "The Bank of Akron" in downtown Akron as a bookkeeper. As a favor to one of her bank girlfriends, Janet went on a "double blind date" with "Bud" Carl Lawley at the Lowes Movie Theater in downtown Akron ( Known today as the historic Civic Theater ). Bud was a "city boy" and unlike any man she had dated up to that point. A slick dressing, fun, smooth talking young man from Goodyear Height in Akron. Not one of the usual farm boys. Bud made a lasting impression that kept Janet on her toes and constantly laughing. They married a few months later in 1955.

Bud was the first of his family born outside of Alabama in over a 150 years. He was born on March the 8th, 1934. The story goes: around 1930 Bud's father Harold Lawley hoboed his way by freight train from Birmingham, AL to Akron, Ohio to find work as a trained Engineer. Harold's Uncle Jim Keys helped his young nephew find employment as a Bowling Alley Pinsetter at Goodyear Hall as a way to get his foot in the door at Goodyear Tire. Harold then sent for his teenage wife Mary Ella to join him in Akron. Bud was born 4 years later in their Goodyear Heights apartment with the help of a Midwife.

As Bud grew up, he discovered he was a natural athlete and he used that ability to get a job at Goodyear Aerospace through a basket ball connection. He would go on to stay at Goodyear Tire for the rest of his life, earning a very good paycheck for a factory worker. Bud met Janet for the first time on that blind date and fell in "Love" that very evening while sitting through a movie with Janet at his side. Dad told me: "He decided Janet was the one... The one he wanted at his side for the rest of his life!"

After their marriage the young couple set up housekeeping in Firestone Park on Akron's Southside in a townhome apartment until they had saved enough money to buy a house in Goodyear Heights. With the ups and downs of the economy and layoffs, Janet and Bud came close to loosing their home twice; but always managing to keep the mortgage company at bay. In 1956 their first son Scott was born and 2 years later Brad was born. Janet went back to work when Brad was 2 so the family could make a decent living; causing the young couple to juggle raising a family and earning a good wage. Janet a good cook, wife and mother continued to work a full time job throughout her marriage at various jobs to make ends meet. She worked at the Bank of Akron, Cardinal Plastics, Avon, Mechanical Industries, and B&B Foods (on an onion ring assembly line; which was very much like an "I Love Lucy" episode). At B&B she heard about an " Equal Rights Opportunity Employment" hiring for "women" in what had been a "Mens Only" trade as a steel worker at "Akron Equipment". She interviewed for the position and was hired; being one of the first women in the steel factory. She put up with much harassment and prejudices but never gave up or quit. She told me once: "she would not let any man tell her what she was or was not capable of doing; including her husband, who wanted her to quit". Janet retired from Akron Equipment after 20 years of service, winning over all the nay sayers and earning a well deserved pension from the United Steelworkers Union of America.

In 1989, Bud decided it was time to start thinking of their retirement future. Janet and Bud decided to build a one story house in a new North Canton, Ohio neighborhood on the culdesac and there they lived happily until Bud's death in November of 2011 at 77 and Janet's death in August of 2025 at the age of 91. Janet always tried to live and face life on her own terms; living alone and staying in her home in North Canton that she and her husband built until the very end of her long well lived life.

Janet was preceded in death by her beloved husband Carl Lawley (Bud) and also her loving parents Don and Gwen Wheatley, plus older sister Ruth Stephan. She is survived by her sons Brad Carl and Scott Allen Lawley, Grandsons James and Leon, younger sister Kayann & David Hawkins and brother Donn & Sandy Wheatley. All in all Janet was a real home body, who loved babies, gardening, reading and her family. She very much loved her home in North Canton that her husband Bud had built for her in 1989; which she lived in until her death at age 91.