Obituary of Janet Mae Sargo

Janet Mae Gabany was born on May 25, 1935, in the coal mining town of Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania. She was one of eight children born to the union of Steve Gabany and Caroline (Walker) Gabany. There, in Cambria County, is where she attended South Fork High School, and met the love of her life, Joseph Sargo.

Jan’s mother sent her to Michigan to help care for her sister Lee.  On October 18, 1954, in Ehrenfeld, Jan and Joe began what was to become a remarkable 70 year love story when they married at Mount Carmel church in Ehrenfeld.  The couple relocated to Detroit, Michigan where Jan worked as a sales associate for the J.L. Hudson department store in downtown Detroit.  The couple then moved to a new home in the then growing suburb of Taylor to begin their family. They became foster parents through the Catholic Social Services for several years before being blessed with three children of their own, Diana, Sharon and Joey. Jan kept busy as a mother and home maker and was involved in their children’s activities including several years as a Campfire Girls leader. She later worked at the Gibraltar Trade Center where she enjoyed meeting new people and selling gift items.

In 1974, during a weekend trip to the “country” for horseback riding, they found out about an old farmhouse for sale, and soon afterwards moved to Dundee, Michigan spending several years renovating and remodeling. They spent the next fifty years there, enjoying what is affectionately known as “The Farm”.  

Jan was a dedicated member of St. Irene Catholic Church in Dundee where she served with various church ladies’ groups, including the funeral luncheon team and the Annual Craft Sale and Breakfast. Once Joe retired, the couple began traveling across the country with their dear friends Carol and John McIntyre and Marge and Bill Davis. The Sargo’s spent many winters as "Snowbirds” at the Lamp Light Senior Community near Melbourne, Florida.

Jan’s true love was spending time with her family and spending many winters with their granddaughter Shauna in Florida. Her warm, inviting personality made “The Farm” home to family, friends, and friends of family. Jan was considered like a mom to many.

Janet Mae Sargo, age 88 of Dundee, passed away on Tuesday; May 21, 2024, at her home surrounded by loving family. Her passing was preceded by her parents: Steve and Caroline Walker; a daughter: Diana Maria Sargo; a son: Joseph Gerard Sargo; four sisters: Helen Malarik, Leona Hull, Betty Seese, and Catherine “Kay” Hacker; two brothers: Steve and Eugene Gabany.

To cherish her memory, she leaves a loving husband of sixty-nine years: Joseph R. Sargo of Dundee; a daughter: Sharon Sargo (Mark Wolf) of Tecumseh; a sister: Mary “Sandy” Oliver of Knoxville, Tennessee; a granddaughter: Shauna Marie Thirion of Palm Bay, Florida; and one great grandson: Thane Carter.

Friends may gather from 3:00pm until 7:00pm on Friday, May 24, 2024, at Merkle Funeral Service, Dundee: 297 Tecumseh Street, Dundee, Michigan 48131(734) 529-3156, where the Rosary will be recited at 7:00pm. She will lie in state from 10:00am until 11:00am on Saturday; May 25, 2024, at St. Gabriel Parish, St. Irene Church; 576 East Main Street, Dundee, Michigan 48131. The Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated at 11:00 am with Father Michael Woroniewicz presiding.  A procession will follow to Marble Park Cemetery in Milan, Michigan for burial.

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