Janet’ Frances (Gabbert) Corwin was born Aug. 19, 1937, in Lewiston, Idaho, to Roy Gabbert and Doris Frances Clemens Gabbert.
On Jan. 31, 1959, in Lewiston, Idaho, Janet’ married Peter Lossl Corwin, an Army vet and music student. The couple raised six children together and remained married until Pete’s passing, days before their 60th wedding anniversary.
Both students at the University of Idaho, the monthly income via the GI Bill at the time of marriage was $130 per month. Rent was $60 per month. Janet’ graduated in 1959 from the University of Idaho with a BA in education and taught at Whitman Elementary in Lewiston, Idaho. Two years into marriage, the couple lost all their belongings in an apartment fire in Moscow, Idaho, barely escaping with their 2-month-old baby, Lisa Marie Corwin (Voetberg). The local community helped the homeless couple immediately find shelter from the icy January winter, donating household items and clothing. Soon, the family moved to Centralia, Washington, put down roots and never left.
The brick house on West Locust Street across from Centralia College was home to Janet’ and Pete Corwin’s family for 47 years. Intentionally giving their children the stable community they never experienced, Janet’ and Pete were actively involved in community service, hospitality and family dinners around the long dining room table, with extra friends or acquaintances always welcome. Over several decades, Janet’ and Pete hosted 56 international students, some of whom became unofficial adopted family members and included individuals from Kuwait to China to Ivory Coast to the Republic of Georgia. At one time, the small home also hosted a family of Cambodian refugees. In the hospital before her death, one Vietnamese doctor, on hearing of Janet’ hosting a Vietnamese refugee who escaped on a boat, honored Janet’. “Thank you for helping my people,” he said. This legacy of hospitality crossed generations, as one grandson remembers hosting a Bible study with his Centralia College basketball teammates in Grandma and Grandpa’s house.
In the 1960s, Janet’ was the first pregnant teacher allowed to teach until full term at Oakview Elementary, and in the 1980s, Janet’ substitute taught at Centralia High School. Until the end of life, Janet’ remained an avid reader, sharp intellect and diligent learner. She read daily: the latest New York Times bestselling book, news articles, the Bible or well-written novels. She was intelligently acquainted with national and local politics, current events and always curious. She was a capable writing editor and proofreader.
A diligent and creative woman, Janet’ is remembered for a manicured lawn, bountiful vegetable garden and fragrant sweet peas, as well as quilting, sewing, painting and selling crafts through her local business, “Grandmother Gooseberry.” She and Pete toured central Europe five times and traveled to Israel in the 1970s. Known as Grandma Corwin or Nana Frances by her numerous grandchildren, Janet’ (and Pete) attended the countless sports events, recitals and concerts of their grandchildren and mailed individualized birthday cards faithfully. Janet’ was selflessly frugal yet abundantly generous.
Janet’ became a Christian the summer before her senior year of high school at a Nazarene church near her home in Idaho. As a young married couple, Janet’ and Pete attended St. Stanislaus Church in Lewiston. In Centralia, the family attended St. Mary’s Catholic Church, then First Presbyterian Church on Rock Street. Janet’s life was woven with volunteer work and church leadership, and she is remembered as a woman of prayer. She leaves long prayer lists, documented on her computer and tucked in her Bible. Her notes show she prayed for even the youngest of her great-grandchildren by name. As her health declined sharply in the weeks before her passing, she chose the song “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” as her personal theme.
Near the end of her life, an early birthday party was held with Janet’ and many family members to honor and celebrate her life. Eight days later, on Aug. 22, 2026, she went to be with Jesus at the age of 89.
There will be no public memorial service, but if you would like to honor Janet’s memory with a gift, contributions may be made to the Centralia College Pete Corwin Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Janet’ is survived by her sister, Linda Nell Bradley, and three nieces: Christina Snyder Monahan, Cindy Bradley Cross and Siobhan Baxter.
Janet’ also leaves behind six children: Lisa Marie Voetberg, Renee Nichols, Mary Moffit, Christopher Corwin, Jeremy Corwin and Mark Corwin; and 24 grandchildren: Joby (Joseph Lee Jr.) Voetberg, Brice Marie Hansen, Liddy Hoover, Elisha Voetberg, Annie Rasmussen, Lilja Rasmussen, Tucker Voetberg, Deter Voetberg, Vance Voetberg, Rudy Voetberg, Katie Carney, Micah Corwin, Josiah Corwin, Ellie Rowland, Noah Corwin, Ben Corwin, Madelinn Corwin, Jacoby Corwin, Alexander Corwin, Nicholas Rey, Pascal Rey, Dax Corwin, Dorian Corwin and Stewart Corwin.
She also leaves behind 49 great-grandchildren, plus three great-grandbabies due soon.
