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OBITUARY
Janonne "Jan" Lynn Hatch
APRIL 30, 1958 – JANUARY 5, 2019
Janonne Lynn Claxton Hatch, 60, died January 5, 2019 at Norman Regional Hospital. She was born on April 30, 1958, to her parents, Glenn and Georgia Claxton in Oklahoma City. Upon the death of Georgia when Jan was only 11, Joyce Smith of Slaughterville, OK stepped into the role of friend, teacher, and surrogate mother. Jan married Edwin Hatch in 1981 at the Southern Oaks Assembly of God church. Jan graduated from Norman High School and was awarded a Bachelor’s of Arts in Latin from the University of Oklahoma. While employed by the Oklahoma Dept. of Transportation, Jan returned to college to earn a Master’s of Science from Langston University in Rehabilitation Counseling. At the time of her passing, Jan was employed as a Program Manager with the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitative Services. Jan channeled her competitive nature into years of softball leagues, playing for her church team into her forties. (Breaking her nose with a line drive contributed to her retirement.) She found great fulfillment competing in both cooking and sewing categories at the State Fair of Oklahoma. Jan has been awarded Pie Champion which meant entering 16 different pies, Cake Champion which meant entering 7 cakes and the title of State Spam Queen which she won several times (for which she was teased by her cousins.) In recent years, Jan was very active in a community of quilters, and taught classes in quilting at Moore Norman Technology Center. We are fortunate to have dozens of her quilts to keep us warm. Jan is survived by her husband, Ed, her birth mother Frances Edwards, siblings Bob Barnett, Mindy Morton, and Cindy Burke. Also, her parents-in-law Frank and Jessie Hatch, sister and brothers-in-law Millie and Skip Heflin, and Jimmie Don Hatch as well as many cousins, nieces, and nephews, as well as her two Labradors. A memorial service will be held on Friday, January 11 at 2:00 pm at Calvary Church, 3730 North Porter, Norman, 73071. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Second Chance Animal Sanctuary, a non-profit no-kill shelter located in Norman. www.secondchancenorman.com
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Susan Smith (Nash)
Wow!!! This is very sad, sad news :(
Jan and I were great friends our senior year and then for the first few years at OU. I can truly say that she had a very positive impact in my life! I always loved her creativity -- even as a high school student, she had an entire upstairs devoted to sewing and crafts. Jan was a genius! I enjoyed sewing, too, and had a lot of fun looking for interesting fabrics, notions, and then innovating with the patterns (Singer, Butterick, Vogue) ...
I have a lot of great memories --
-- going to Turner Falls in May 1976 -- I had a new two-piece swimsuit in a lovely light peach color. Little did I know that when wet, my swimsuit totally blended with my skin! We took photos -- and Jan's dad, upon seeing them commented, "Wow! What happened to Susy's swimsuit??? It looks like she's not wearing anything at all!!" (YIKES!!!)
-- listening to music while sewing, planning, talking -- KC and the Sunshine Band, Linda Ronstedt "Heart Like Wheel", Vivaldi "The Four Seasons"
-- reviewing Latin together. I took Latin but only 3 years. Jan took all four years, and then was a Latin major at OU. I think she was one of 1 or 2. She had a gift for Latin.
-- attending Assembly of God church services. Jan was very dedicated to the Assembly of God church, and I often accompanied her, even though I was not raised in that denomination. The Assembly of God church in south Oklahoma City had a wonderful Sunday evening service, and Iwas even persuaded to play the keyboards for the chuch band. It was amazing. I did not know many of the songs, but came to have a deep appreciation for Andrae Crouch, and other gospel song writers. After church, we would often stop by and have pizza with other members of the church.
-- we had a goal of trying every restaurant in Norman. In 1975 and 1976, that was actually possible.
-- "disco days" in Tulsa in 1978 the summer I hwas a "summer engineer" in the core lab at the Amoco Research Center.
I'm just so sad to hear the news, and I often wonder what it is that makes people drift apart after experiencing such intense and formative times together. I guess I know the answer to this already -- our activities, interests, and friendships went in different directions. It makes me appreciate the impact that a good friend can have on your life. I am very grateful for Jan's friendship.