Obituary of Janet Engles Kehoe

Janet Engles Kehoe, a long-time resident of Eugene, passed away on April 1, 2023 from recurrence of her cancer, surrounded by her family and friends at the age of 78.

Janet Sue Potts was born on July 29, 1944 in Los Angeles, California. She was the middle of 3 children born to Frances Bagley and Clabron Potts. Growing up in LA in the 50’s was great and she spent most of her days outside riding bikes and playing baseball or other games. She spent a lot of time with 7 of her 10 cousins as 4 of her mom’s sisters lived in the area. They gathered together for holidays and many other family activities. The cousins remained friends and had their most recent cousin’s weekend several years ago in Dallas at Kaaren’s home. She also loved reading at an early age and would read every chance she could, a trait that carried on through her whole life. She graduated from Lennox HS class of 62. She was very active in HS and was on the cheerleading squad her Jr and Sr years and made many friends that still stay in touch 60 years later. Her love of dancing which she got from her father carried on through her life. In HS she was on square dance teams along with her brother DeWayne that traveled and competed. Her mom was her best friend and learned from her the skills that guided her in life.

After graduation she attended UCLA for a year and a half, before starting her professional career at Citizen’s S&L as a teller. She advanced through Accounting and Payroll and then found her passion in Human Resources where she excelled, she left after 12 years.

In 1976 Janet married Ray Jay Engles and had a son David, they moved from warm sunny California to sleepy cold Bend Oregon, to be close to family and Janet went to work for Brooks-Scanlon Mill in 1979 as Personnel Administrator. In 1987 Janet moved to Beaver Coaches in Bend originally as Personnel Manager, later promoted to VP Administration. Ray and Janet separated in 1991. She met Mike at Beaver Coaches in 1992 and it was love at first sight for him but Janet took a bit longer than that. After dating for several years, partly long distance as Mike moved back to Eugene in 1994. They were married on March 4, 1995 and Janet added three more children to her family Samantha, Joshua and Benjamin. Along the way Janet finished her BS degree in Business Management at Linfield. She also had her SPHR certification.

Janet worked for SMC in Bend until 1996 when she finally was moved to SMC corporate and was finally able to live in Eugene, but still traveled regularly between Harrisburg, Bend and Burns in her job. Janet stayed at SMC until 2001, when she took the role as Human Resources Manager at PSC, Inc. In 2005 Janet joined several former SMC employees at Country Coach as the VP of HR, (couldn’t get away from the Motor Home Industry), she was there for 3 years before leaving in 2008 to work for Data-Logic Mobile Inc. a new division of Data-Logic ADC, Inc. She was there until 2013 when she retired.

When Janet wasn’t working she and Mike were playing and traveling as much as they could. They joined Shadow Hills CC, in 1994 before they were both living in Eugene. Until Janet’s retirement they managed to play evenings and weekends. After retirement Janet was a regular in the Women’s 9-Hole group as well as playing in couple’s tournaments. They also had a goal to play in all 50 States, but due to Covid and other issues, they only got 30 of the states, as well as Canada and Mexico.

Janet became a Duck fan, but would still wear her UCLA earrings when they played the Bruins. They had season tickets for over 20 years, giving them up when there were too many night games. They also travelled to 3 Bowl Games including the Natty, but quit after realizing they may be a curse, because they Ducks never won a bowl game they attended.

They really enjoyed travelling with friends and made 3 trips to Europe as well as a number of trips to Mexico. Since Mike’s retirement they were able to take long road trips, meeting with others occasionally for part of their trip. The Bobby Jones Golf Trail trip down to Alabama ending up in New Orleans was a memorable one with 3 other couples. Several of the others they flew cross country and then rented a car for the road trip. The last was our first time to the New England states spending 30 great days travelling there. Shortly after this trip Janet found out her Cancer had come back.

Janet also found quilting after she retired. It was a natural fit as she was already a skilled seamstress, thanks to her Mom. She joined the Quilt Club at Shadow Hills and added another group of friends. She also started volunteering at the PeaceHealth volunteer office providing the same skills she had perfected in her years of employment. As well as volunteering, she made many lap quilts for the hospice patients and Christmas baby stockings for the New Year babies.

Family was most important to Janet and she wanted us to always be there for as many of the events for the kids, grandkids and great granddaughter Amelia as possible. She did make sure we attended at least the first Birthday for the Grandkids and Great Granddaughter Amelia.

Janet was predeceased by her mother and father as well as her brother James and son Benjamin. She is survived by her loving husband of 28 years Mike Kehoe, her brother DeWayne (Jeanne) Potts, her children David (Becky) Engles, Samantha (Ryan) Hoffman, Joshua (Jia) Kehoe as well as her 7 grandkids and 1 great granddaughter, with a great grandson on the way. She found joy in everything that she did but she mostly enjoyed quilting, golfing, traveling and spending time with friends and family. When she made friends they were life long as she maintained contact always remembering birthdays and special occasions. She was an amazing baker, always having something sweet and ready to eat when friends and family visited. She loved to spend time with her family and would often travel for hours to see them. She was the most selfless and humble woman, always giving to her family, her friends and the community.

We would like to thank the people at PeaceHealth Hospice for the wonderful and caring attention you have shown Janet and our family in her last days. We would also like to thank Willamette Valley Cancer Center for doing everything they could.

Musgrove Mortuaries will handle her cremation and will also have an obituary on their website. A celebration of life will be held later this summer at Shadow Hills CC, an announcement will be sent out in advance. In lieu of flowers consider donations to PeaceHealth Hospice, St Jude’s or to the many other groups trying to find a cure for cancer.