Published in the February 10, 2017 edition
MELROSE — Janet M. (Janiak) Winam, 96, a longtime resident of Melrose, passed away peacefully at the Life Care Center of Stoneham on Sunday, February 5, 2017.
Janet was born in Manchester-By-The-Sea on June 15, 1920, and was one of five children of the late Stephen Janiak and Viola (Bareskwa) Jasiak. She was married in 1942 to Charles V. Winam, Jr. in Pass-A-Grille Beach, Florida and settled in Melrose to raise five children. Janet stayed at home with her children and was a devoted and caring homemaker.
Janet was a friendly, independent and strong woman. She always helped out with her grandchildren, and liked to take picnics with the family around the North Shore, or the islands in Boston Harbor. She never drove, so she walked everywhere and or stayed busy at home with gardening, cooking, knitting, or sewing. Easy to talk to, Janet could be found sitting on the front porch talking to her neighbors or in the kitchen with warm baked goods in the oven. She loved listing to music, especially Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra, and was an expert in nursing plants back to life. Generous and with a kind heart, Janet was a faithful and longtime parishioner of Most Blessed Sacrament Church.
Janet was the beloved wife of the late Charles V. Winam, Jr., with whom she shared 62 years of marriage. She was the devoted mother of Ellen Magliaro and her late husband Anthony of Melrose; Joan Desmond of Raymond, New Hampshire; David Paul Winam of Newport, Rhode Island; and the late Stephen Winam and Kathleen Croce. She was the dear sister of Edward Jasiak and the late Stephen Janiak, Victor Jasiak, Mary Metall, Joseph Janiak and Joseph Jasiak. She was the cherished grandmother of 12 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren and five great-great grandchildren. Also survived by many nieces and nephews.
Relatives and friends will gather in honor and remembrance of Janet’s life during visiting hours at the Robinson Funeral Home, 809 Main St., Melrose on Sunday, February 12 from 2-6 p.m., and again on Monday morning at 8 a.m. before leaving in procession to Most Blessed Sacrament Church, 1155 Main St., Wakefield for her Funeral Mass celebrated at 9 a.m. Interment will take place in Puritan Lawn Memorial Park, Peabody. For online tribute, or directions visit RobinsonFuneralHome.com.