Janet (Schuster) Pagnotta

July 20, 1939  –  June 28, 2025

Janet Pagnotta

Janet passed away at the age of 85 on June 28, 2025 at her home in Redmond, WA after a long illness. Born to William and Marjorie Schuster on July 20, 1939, Janet was the youngest of three sisters.  She attended Garfield grade school and North Central High School where she was very active in school functions. Janet was the first in her family to attend college and she graduated in 1961 from WSU with a degree in Education.  While living in Pullman she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and was President of the sorority her senior year.  After graduation, Janet taught grade school in Spokane for five years.

The summer before Janet’s senior year in high school she took a chance on a blind date and met Art Pagnotta.  For the rest of the summer, they spent all their spare time together before Art left for college.  They were married in December of 1961 and celebrated 63 years together.  Art’s career at Sears involved relocation and the next years of their life together were spent in Walla Walla WA, Indio CA, Salinas CA, Salem OR, Beaverton OR, Olympia WA, and Redmond WA.  Janet was busy during these years maintaining their home and raising two daughters who became the center of her life.  She wanted to be present when the girls came home from school, so she worked as a part-time substitute teacher during those years.  When the family landed in Redmond and the girls were grown, Janet returned to teaching and worked as a highly popular substitute teacher in the Lake Washington School District in Redmond for 18 years.  She found so much joy working with the students and teachers in her favorite schools in Redmond.  Another source of joy for Janet was her work as a Deacon at Bellevue Presbyterian Church.  She met many wonderful people as she supported the membership in her service to the church.

Janet grew up with a love of family.  She worked hard to create family events that brought everyone together and made memories.  The best memories were made at the summer cabin on Whidbey Island where family and friends gathered over the years.  You could depend on walks on the beach, great meals, and lots of laughter whenever you visited.  Her greatest joy came when the grandchildren walked through the door.  They were the light of their Gammie’s life from the first time she held them as babies to the last visit they made to her bedside.  Every minute together mattered.

Janet is survived by her husband Art, her daughter Jill (Steven) Martinez, her daughter Julie (Ken Kirkpatrick) Pagnotta, grandchildren Garrett Martinez and Gina Martinez, nephew Jim (Sally) Hoppe, niece Cheryl (Gale) Allen and numerous great-nieces and nephews.

A graveside memorial service is planned for September 23 at 10:30 at Greenwood Cemetery in Spokane, WA.