Janet Jenkins, 79

Janet Jenkins, 79, died peacefully at Judson Park in Des Moines, Washington, on Saturday, June 13, 2020, after battling progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) for several years.

Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. at the Lakeview Funeral Home in Sandpoint on Tuesday, June 23, 2020.

She was born on January 22, 1941, in Omaha, Nebraska, to Callie Cowan Clark and Albert Eldon Clark. She grew up on the Klamath Indian Reservation and graduated from Chiloquin High School in 1958. She received her bachelor’s degree from Southern Oregon College in 1962 and did graduate work in English, social science and library science at the Univer-sity of Oregon and Portland State Univer-sity. She taught English and history in the public school systems in Oregon and Idaho, and was a school librarian. She was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

She graduated magna cum laude from Gonzaga School of Law in 1982. She clerked for a year in the federal courts system then entered private practice first in Coeur d’Alene then in Sandpoint. Her private practice was as diverse as her many interests.

She took pride in the fact that she had served in the three branches of government in Idaho. She was an ardent, progressive Democrat and served two terms in the Idaho Legislature. She also served the executive branch as a member of the Board of Directors of the Department of Corrections. For her service to the public sector she received many awards including Teacher of the Year on two separate occasions and commendations from the U.S. Department of Justice for her advocacy and leadership.

Her greatest achievement in life, as she often said, was her children. She was a devoted mother and grandmother.

She was preceded in death by her parents Callie Cowan Clark and Albert Eldon Clark, her brother Richard Clark and her sister Dona Thorsen. She is survived by her sons Jay Allen Jenkins (and wife Denise) of Everett, Washington, John Richard Jenkins of Ponderay, Idaho and Janell Elizabeth Lucille Gonyea (and husband Matthew) of Kent, Washington; and her grandboys James and Josef.

Lakeview Funeral Home in Sandpoint is handling the arrangements. Please visit Janet’s online memorial at www.lakeviewfuneral.com and sign her guest book.