Janet Ruth (Gebhart) Hare
1933-2023
Janet Ruth (Gebhart) Hare, 89, of Parkville, Md., passed from this life on May 15, 2023, at Medstar Franklin Square Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland, after a long illness. She was a resident of Oak Crest Village Retirement Community in Parkville.
Born July 28, 1933 in Islip, N.Y., Janet was predeceased by her husband George Hare. She graduated from Eastern High School in Baltimore in 1951 and later married George Hare and worked in medical records at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the pathology department until retiring in 1999. She and George then moved full-time to Great Cacapon, W.Va. where earlier they had built a beautiful cabin in the wooded community of River Ridge. Janet was of the Methodist faith and belonged to the Calvary United Methodist Church in Great Cacapon. She remained in Great Cacapon until after George passed, then returned to the Baltimore area to live at Oak Crest Village in 2016.
Janet was a very kind, generous, considerate, intelligent and compassionate person and loved people. She loved to entertain and was well known for her outstanding corned beef dinners on St. Patrick’s Day. Throughout her life, she was extremely active in many groups and organizations and was an avid volunteer. She belonged to Eastern Star, CEO’s and Red Hats, and regularly worked at the polls during elections as well as volunteered and worked in Medical Records for the War Memorial Hospital in Berkeley Springs, W.Va.
She loved playing cards and belonged to a bridge goup in the River Ridge Community and served as a one-person “welcoming committee” for the community Homeowners’ Association. She was usually the first person new residents would meet as she greeted them with a big smile and cheerfully presented them a welcome package of information.
Janet and George loved to travel and met their goal of visiting every state in the United States at least once, some more than once. While in River Ridge, they reserved Thursdays for their “travel date,” and would head out in their car for a seafood lunch at the Eastern Shore or just find a new route to explore for the day. When not traveling, Janet would play cards, host a gathering, visit friends in a nursing home, read to children in a local elementary school, or do a multitude of other volunteer work. Especially high on her list of things to do was decorate her home for all the different holidays, and she remembered peoples’ birthdays and mailed them a birthday card and called them to extend her good wishes. She always had kind words for everyone, tried to make them feel special, and kept up with news about everyone and everything. If you ever wanted to know what was going on, Janet was the go-to person to find out. She had boundless energy and, by some, was referred to as the “Energizer Bunny” for her zest for life and people.
Although Janet and George never had children, they had special friends who lived next door in the 1950’s and informally “adopted” their two boys, and later one of the boys had a daughter whom they loved and doted over, spending every Christmas with them from 1960 until George passed and Janet was unable to attend last year due to illness. The family had recollections of spending wonderful times with Janet playing in the snow, decorating Christmas trees, going on special trips and just being “family” together.
This special family as well as Janet’s many friends, neighbors and former colleagues will miss her tremendously and wish her God Speed and Peace. We were all lucky to have known Janet and had her in our lives.
Janet did not want a big fuss made over her when she passed, and requested no service. She donated her body to the Maryland State Anatomy Board. If she were asked what people could do in her honor when she passed, she most likely would say please donate to your favorite charity or organization, be kind and take care of each other.
