Janet Tauscher Obituary

Janet (Frankwich) Tauscher, 91, of Kent, Ohio, formerly of Red House and Nitro, West Virginia, and Whitaker, Pennsylvania, died July 13, 2025.

Janet was born October 2, 1933, in Whitaker, PA, the oldest of four children. She grew up on River View Blvd in Homestead, PA and graduated from Munhall High School in 1951. Following graduation, she worked as a comptometer operator for US Steel in their accounts payables department.

When Janet was 22, she went to Conneaut Lake for the weekend with a couple of her girlfriends and that is where she met her future husband, Rolf. They were married on May 17, 1958.

Shortly after they married, Rolf enlisted in the Army and Janet accompanied him to Germany, where they lived for a little over a year.

Upon returning to the US, she worked for the University of Pittsburgh until she had her first child, Kurt, in June of 1963. Fourteen months later, their second child, Karin, was born. The family lived in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania until 1968, when they moved to Nitro, West Virginia.

Janet was a stay-at-home mom who knew how to have fun. She didn’t just stand by and watch children play, she joined in. Instead of simply pushing the merry-go-round, she jumped on and rode. She regularly took in and cared for an assortment of abandoned, orphaned or injured birds and animals. Every creature had pet potential including a large feral cat colony she cared for despite being terribly allergic to them. Even mice caught in a trap could end up living the high life if they played their cards right.

She enjoyed accompanying her husband on the golf course and taking walks in the woods with her family and dogs.

She was one of the happiest people you would ever hope to meet, and the quickest to laugh. She could find the funny in nearly any situation, including injuries. When she accidentally snipped off part of her grandson’s ear while giving him a haircut, she pulled out her camera and began taking pictures, telling him an injury like that deserved to be documented. Those photos (along with part of his ear) became the first entry in what eventually became a multi-album Boo Boo Book.

In 1987, she and Rolf moved to a 60-acre farm on top of a mountain in Red House, West Virginia, overlooking the Kanawha River. For the next 31 years, they lived there, transforming the house and property into their own personal playground.

One of her greatest joys was spending time with her grandchildren, playing games, dressing them up, taking them on adventures to parks, petting zoos, farms, and yard sales. She loved to read and save articles and quotes to share with her family and left behind many clippings and notes her family will likely continue to find for many years to come.

In 2018, she and Rolf moved to Brimfield, Ohio to live with their son Kurt and his wife Sherry. On July 3, 2025, an injury from a fall started a rapid decline in her health. On July 13, she passed away in the company of her family and friends.

She was always smiling, singing a song, and had a positive outlook on life. She loved her family and friends immensely.

Janet is survived by her son Kurt Tauscher (Sherry), of Kent, Ohio, her daughter Karin Patton (Don) of Hinton, WV, grandchildren Tori Tauscher (Steve), Zachary Tauscher, Madeline Bisler (Ben) and Celeste Vingle (Brock), and great-granddaughters Evelyn and Adaline Tauscher. She was predeceased by her husband of 63 years Rolf Tauscher, granddaughter, Camille Vingle, sisters Doris Kirmeyer and Wilma Frankwich, and brother Edgar Frankwich, along with their parents, Albert Frankwich and Margaret McCullough.

She is laid to rest with her husband near her granddaughter, Camille, at Tyler Mountain Memory Gardens in Cross Lanes, WV.

In lieu of visitation and services, the family had a small private celebration of her life.

Services in care of Bissler & Sons Funeral Home and Crematory, 628 W. Main St. Kent, OH 44240.