Janet Jansse Breuner
May 16, 1933 – June 12, 2026
Janet Jansse Breuner passed away peacefully in the early hours of June 12, 2026, in Bozeman, Montana, where she had lived full-time since 2018.
When Janet Katherine Jansse was born on May 16, 1933, in San Francisco, California, the world was blessed with a woman whose joy, kindness, generosity, and love would enrich the lives of everyone fortunate enough to know her.
Janet was born to Janet Kane “Netsie” and Jack Jansse and was the older sister of Liz Jansse Fitzenz, all of whom preceded her in death. The family lived in San Jose, California; Seattle, Washington; and finally Orinda, California, where they settled when Janet was in junior high school. It was there that she first met Rich Breuner, a boy one year her senior who, some eighteen years later, would become her husband.
From an early age and throughout her life, Janet loved music. She played the piano, sang, and enjoyed modern dance, continuing to play and sing into her nineties. A favorite picture of Janet from high school shows her in a dance leotard, with arms flung wide in a modern dance pose performed on a grassy hillside, full of joy.
Janet graduated from Providence College of Nursing and the University of California, Berkeley, where she was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority. After completing a nursing internship in Hawaii, she returned to the Bay Area. There, she and Rich reconnected and were married on November 20, 1960, at Santa Maria Church in Orinda and soon thereafter started a family. Later, after Janet’s children were school aged, she applied her nurse’s training to becoming an alcohol and drug educator in the public schools, as well as a CPR instructor.
Together, Janet and Rich raised four children, who survive her: Richard Weston Breuner II (Carmen) of Truckee, California; Betsy Breuner DePew (Michael) of Truckee, California; Jeanette “Nettie” Breuner (Chad) of Big Sky, Montana; and Andrew “Andy” Breuner (Susan Beth) of Gallatin Gateway, Montana. Janet is also survived by ten grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and dear friends. Her husband Rich preceded her in death on July 5, 2019.
In every role she held—daughter, sister, wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, great-grandmother, and treasured friend—Janet was truly one of a kind. She enriched every interaction with her thoughtfulness, gentle humor, and colorful vocabulary, including favorites such as “toodloo,” “snicklefritz,” “wow zow,” “his nibs,” “toots,” and “toes-up,” among many others.
A devout Catholic, Janet embodied the love, acceptance, kindness, and generosity that were at the heart of her faith. She lived her values with quiet courage, consistency, and grace, never with judgment. Nearly everyone who met Janet came away with the same impression: she was simply one of the nicest people they had ever known.
Though she always loved the beach, the ocean, and being in the sun, Janet also embraced life in the mountains. She came to truly enjoy skiing, fishing, and hiking in the Sierra Nevada near the family cabin at Lake Tahoe and later in Big Sky, Montana, where she and Rich built a wonderful retirement life centered around friendship, family, and the outdoors. Together, they passed along a love of the mountains to their children and grandchildren.
Janet adored wildflowers, and each spring and summer, the colors of paintbrush, columbine, and lupine will forever remind us of her. She loved sunshine and light perhaps more than anything and could always find a sunny spot for what she affectionately called “flopping” in the sun.
If the quality of one’s friendships is a measure of a life well lived, Janet’s life was extraordinary. Together with Rich, she built a remarkable community of lifelong friends. Their years were filled with shared stories, camping trips, hikes, fishing adventures, barbecues, many a cocktail hour, laughter, and enduring friendship.
In the final months of her life, all four of Janet’s children and their spouses, along with each of her grandchildren, were able to spend time with her—a gift for which her family will always be grateful.
To our one-of-a-kind Janet, we say goodbye, knowing that, wherever she is, she is smiling and saying, “Toodloo!” right back to us.
A memorial Mass for Janet will be scheduled for a later date. The family requests that memorial gifts in Janet’s honor be made to the Catholic Relief Services or to Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
Arrangements are in the care of Dokken-Nelson Funeral Service. www.dokkennelson.com
