Famed Kane County writer Janet Rossi dies at 65

She looked at her beloved city of St. Charles through the eyes of the common woman and held back no punches in "The Observer," her weekly local column of more than 10 years.

Janet Rossi, a writer, musician, loving wife and mother, died Tuesday, Sept. 2 after years of coping with diabetes and related heart and lung problems. She was 65.

Rossi was best known in the area for her weekly columns, which appeared in the Kane County Chronicle from the late 1980s through the 1990s. She had previously written for the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, and more recently had columns appearing periodically in the Daily Herald and St. Charles Republican.

Her columns had many fans, but perhaps best struck a chord with middle-aged women, as she often lamented the drawbacks of getting older and watching her small town get larger and more modern at the same time. She made her readers laugh or cry, but mostly laugh, as she was never shy about addressing topics that concerned women and their families, but were rarely discussed in public.

She might lament the closing of an old store or debate whether some new construction should displace open land. She was ahead of her time in bringing up a topic that only recently might be seen on TV - begging someone to create a comfortable bra for middle-aged women - and making her readers laugh out loud while doing it.

Rossi played piano in the Elgin Symphony Orchestra and at Fox Valley Presbyterian Church in Geneva, where she was a member. She illustrated her music and theatrical skills as a member of the popular Playmakers community theater group for nearly 20 years from the 1960s through the 1980s.

"Writing was her main passion," said daughter Amy King. "But the Playmakers was a huge thing for her for many years. She would play the piano, sing and dance, and also direct plays and do the stage sets and makeup."

Born Oct. 6, 1942 in Chicago, the daughter of Carl and Mary Axelson, Rossi married Philip Cool in 1961 and moved to St. Charles in 1962. She was known to readers as Janet Cool, until she married her second husband, Patrick Rossi, on Oct. 11, 1997.

She is survived by her husband and four children - Linda, Susan, Amy and Andrew; three stepchildren and five grandchildren.

Daughter Linda Shields remembers her mom as a strong fighter for her family.

"She raised four kids on her own and worked during the day as a secretary and in the evening playing piano to come up with money to raise us and keep us fed," Shields said. "She had to fight for everything in life and everything she got."

"Friends and family were what really drove her the last few years," Patrick Rossi said of his wife.

Shields was with her mother the night before she died.

"She had me sit right next to her and she said to me 'I will not see you again and I want you to know I love you.' She said I should take my sisters and brother and our kids and go do something fun," in celebrating her life, Shields said.

King saw her mother give it her all in fighting her health problems.

"She really fought her illnesses and stayed alive by setting goals for herself of wanting to see a grandchild born, or a grandchild graduating, and she did it all," King said.

Rita Hoover, a former Geneva resident who became friends with the columnist when both were penning local columns, remembers how her writing style caught her eye.

"Before I had the nerve to attempt becoming a writer myself, I used to read Janet's columns each week," Hoover said. "I loved her honesty, especially about herself. It was obvious that she lived a somewhat difficult life, as she talked about being a single mom to teenagers and the challenges she faced trying to make ends meet while living in a rather affluent suburban area.

"I liked her courage in talking about these things and her ability to share life's ups and downs without sounding like a victim."

Sharon and Vern Oie of St. Charles saw her song-and-dance side when they performed with her with the Playmakers, including three years ago when she made her final public appearance playing piano on the stage at the Arcada Theater in the community show "Sizzle."

"There was no one quite like her, she was a fabulous pianist and quite a dancer when she was younger," Sharon Oie said. "She was very direct and a straight shooter, you always knew where you stood with her."

A memorial service is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sept. 12 at Fox Valley Presbyterian Church in Geneva.