A. T. Burke
As Janaâ??s oldest friend, I hope to be the first to post a tribute to Janaâ??s life. I may not be the oldest in years, but I have known her the longest because we were babies together at Homoja Village in 1945 on the US Naval Academy grounds. Our parents were close neighbors, so while the guys were at work, the gals palled around with their new babies. Our parents formed a life-long friendship which stayed strong through their deaths. Because of Janaâ??s fatherâ??s special skills, although he remained a Naval officer, he would often be assigned to work at the Naval Electronics Laboratory in Point Loma, in San Diego. My father, who stayed in the reserves but sought civilian employment, also worked at the Electronics Laboratory. Because of their skills and interests, they would often find themselves working on the same project or with the same set of people. It seemed like every other duty assignment brought Janaâ??s father, Captain Paul Combs, to San Diego, where the families would continue their association. We kids were often thrown together because the parents were friends, but outside of that, Jana and I formed a very good and lasting friendship. That kept up all of our lives and we literally interacted, off and on, as the saying goes, from birth to earth. She was bright, capable, caring, and a good mother to her children. She was all the things that her talented and well-educated parents would wish for in a daughter. She found a great guy who not only loved her to the end, but would also make a great life-mate and father for their children. She was also a person who would stand up and speak out for others, while knowing of, but not afraid of the consequences of doing so. They say her parents were of Americaâ??s Greatest Generation. Jana tried in word and deed to make our generation just as great. Many say we failed, but it wasnâ??t because she didnâ??t give it her all. What more would one want out of a human being? A.T. BurkeLutz, FL