Nina Janes, whose late husband Ben was founding pastor of Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church, passed away on July 11 at the age of 97. She and her husband lived here from 1949 to 1959. Born in Fellows, California to Henry and Clara Dustin, Nina was raised on the oil lease in Fellows and attended Taft High School and Taft Junior College. In 1929 she met Ben F. Janes, a student minister, at choir practice. They were engaged on Valentine’s Day and married on June 10, 1930. Nina and Ben attended Fresno State College together and graduated in 1934, whereupon Nina received her teaching credential. The couple moved to Richmond for Ben’s first ministerial assignment at the Steege Presbyterian Church. After his graduation from San Francisco Theological Seminary in 1938, the family moved to Santa Cruz where Ben became the minister at First Presbyterian Church. By now the couple had two children, Dustin (Dusty) and Nancy. During World War II, while Ben served in the South Pacific, Nina was a substitute teacher in the Santa Cruz schools. In 1949 the family moved to Pacific Palisades to organize a new Presbyterian church at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and El Medio Avenue. During this time Nina taught post-polio children at the Cabot Kaiser Institute. In 1959, Nina and Ben moved to Taft. She returned to classroom teaching and was a pioneer in the field of special education. She taught in Taft city schools and was an expert in diagnosing and developing programs for children with learning disabilities. Following retirement in 1972, Nina and Ben returned to Santa Cruz. They enjoyed wonderful times together until Ben’s passing in 1986. Seven years later, Nina moved to Dominican Oaks Retirement Community, where she enjoyed every aspect of social and community life, taking part in exercise classes and attending the ballet, opera and symphony. She never missed an outing. Nina was an active member of P.E.O. Sisterhood and belonged to several other organizations. She was a loving and devoted wife, mother and grandmother and lived her faith throughout her life. All who knew her benefited from her serenity and her character; she accepted each of life’s challenges with dignity and grace. Nina loved to host dinner parties, barbeques and teas. Her table settings were elegant with flowers, candles, ruby glassware and silver. She was the consummate minister’s wife: she sang in the choir, taught Sunday School, was hostess for church events and was a gracious and loving friend to all in the congregation. However, she never learned to type since she didn’t want to take on secretarial duties. She was the center of family events and was usually found holding a baby on her lap. She loved the holidays, dyeing Easter eggs, picnics and fireworks for the Fourth of July, and Christmas parties, but Thanksgiving was always her favorite day since her birthday was celebrated at the same time. Music was a great part of her life; she played the piano, sang and was in the church bell choir. Nina is survived by her son, Dustin (wife Jo Ann) of Portland, Oregon; her daughter Nancy Pascal (husband Roland) of Santa Cruz; seven grandchildren and their spouses; 10 great-grandchildren and their spouses; and two great-great-grandchildren. In addition to her beloved husband, Nina was preceded in death by her sister, Thelma Louise Flanagan. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, January 19, at First Presbyterian Church in Santa Cruz. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that gifts in Nina’s memory may be made to the International Peace Scholarship (IPS) of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, P.O. Box 5617, Whittier, CA 90607-5617, or to another educational scholarship fund of your choice.
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