September 11, 1933 – January 2, 2023

Janet Jo Walters Jacobs Guillot, 89,of Lufkin, Texas died on January 2, 2023, peacefully in her sleep.

Born in Alva, Oklahoma in 1933, she was the daughter of Louise (née Fash) and Bruce Walters, a school teacher and a civil engineer. Janet grew up in the Texas Panhandle, attending high schools in Tulia and Pampa, before attending Sam Houston State University, where she graduated in 1954.

In Galveston, Janet worked for her future brother-in-law, Gerald Jacobs, who introduced her to his brother, Yves, who would be her first husband. After Yves died tragically young, she returned to work, affirming the image of “a real 1970s liberated gal.” Later she met Bubba Guillot, with whom she fell in love for the second time, and in 1976 she married him, rejoicing in their blended family. Bubba died in 2013, but Janet remained close to his children, Debi, David, and Karen, as well as their children and grandchildren.

After earning an MA from the University of Houston-Clear Lake (1981), she then continued her career as an art educator at Clear Lake High School. Some of her students went on to great acclaim as artists and authors.

Janet had her own brush with fame as a writer. In the early 1980s, she entered a romance story contest sponsored by Harlequin and the Houston Chronicle—and won. After the paper published her story, she went to New York to meet with the Harlequin staff. They hosted her like a true acclaimed author, culminating with dinner at Sardi’s, the famed Broadway hangout, and the original production of Sunday in the Park with George, a fitting first Broadway experience for an artist.

Janet enjoyed travel, often visiting Laguna Beach, California, as well as Las Vegas, Nevada. Among other notable trips, she made a pilgrimage to Scotland with her sister Barbara Hodges, daughter Yvette Alverson, and niece Susan Hodges Ramlet. She also took a “bucket-list” trip with her mother, her husband, and her sister, to China, Japan, Singapore, and Thailand.

In 2016 Janet moved to Lufkin to be near her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She kept up with her art, and in the past two years she won two consecutive blue ribbons in the juried competition sponsored by the Lufkin Art Guild.

Janet is survived by her sister, Barbara Walters Hodges of Robbinsdale, Minnesota, and by her three children, Stephen Jacobs (partner Tom Geiman), Yvette Alverson (husband Clay), and Scott Jacobs (partner Amy Nichols). She also leaves grandchildren Tyler Pavlic, Jessica Read (Russell), Tori Alverson, Emilie Jacobs, and Sam Jacobs, five great-grandchildren: Knox, Gavin, Finley, Gentry, and Hattie and a host of many nieces and nephews.

A funeral service is scheduled for 11:00 A.M. on Monday, January 9, 2023 at Jeter Memorial Funeral Home, 311 North Friendswood Drive in Friendswood, Texas, with visitation starting at 10:00 A.M. Immediately following will be a graveside service at Forest Park East Cemetery, 21620 Gulf Freeway in Webster, Texas.

An accomplished artist, Janet was also a strong supporter of the arts, as well as a believer in arts education in schools. In lieu of flowers, a donation to an arts organization in your community would be the greatest tribute to her life and spirit.