Janet C Whitehead

Janet C. Whitehead, age 94, died on June 16th, 2025, in Cheyenne. A lifetime lover of music, Janet lived her life in three movements, like the concertos she played on her violin. In each movement of her life, Janet was the premier soloist, tackling every note and measure of her life with gusto, while lovingly giving every member of her ensemble the opportunity to play to their potential.

1st Movement (Fast and Lively Pace):

Janet Carol Davis was born on March 5, 1931, in Lodi, California, in one of the worst years of the Great Depression. Her earliest memories were not of the hardship of the times, but of growing up with her parents and brother near the ocean in Santa Monica, CA and playing her violin by the pier. A “violin prodigy” said the press, after eight-year-old Janet performed as the featured artist at a recital in San Clemente.

Janet and her family moved to Wichita KS in 1941. She excelled at her music and school and was Valedictorian of her 8th Grade Class at Wichita Eureka School. Her 1944 address to that class must have sparked something in her and her classmates, because Janet became a sought-after speaker throughout her life.

Janet’s family moved Cheyenne in 1946. She graduated from Cheyenne High School in 1948 at the age of seventeen. Janet attended the University of Wyoming from 1948-1950 on a music scholarship. At UW, Janet became a Life Member of the Kappa Delta Sorority, learned to play bridge during the famous Blizzard of “49”, and she also found her husband, Ed Whitehead, who was attending UW after serving in WWII.

Janet Carol Davis and Edwin Harold Whitehead were married on October 8,1950, at the First Presbyterian Church in Cheyenne. The next eight years were quite busy with Janet and Ed deploying to a variety of army bases, including Ft Benning GA, Flint Kaserne, near Bad Tolz, Bavaria, Germany, and Fort Ord, CA with their three children born in 1952, 1954 and 1956.

Janet and her family returned to Cheyenne in 1958. She and Ed ran the family tire and appliance business (Cheyenne Tire and Battery) until 1974. She continued with her violin, playing in the local symphony and other local productions. She also became active with the Democratic Party, helped her husband run and serve in the Wyoming State Legislature and helped him through law school, joined the League of Women Voters, volunteered for all political campaigns, and cultivated lifetime friendships, all while coordinating the many rides, groups, activities, emotions and feeding of three busy children and all their pets.

2nd Movement (Slow and Lyrical)

At the urging of her peers in the Democratic Party, Janet ran for the elected office of Laramie County Clerk in 1974. She won! and was then re-elected for four more terms, serving for a total of 20 years. She was proud to point out that she often received more votes than any other candidate in Laramie County. She was feisty and dedicated and often the only Democratic elected official in the county, which presented certain challenges even then. She brought Laramie County from the dark age of all paper records to the computer age of protected, retrievable documents, she strived to hold fair and accurate elections, updated the voting systems and registration, and even presented and fought over 20 years of mostly contentious county budgets. Her expertise in voting and elections, led to Janet’s 1975 testimony before the United States Senate on the novel idea of allowing voter registration by mail. It included lunch in the Senate Dining Room.

While County Clerk, Janet attended classes at CSU and obtained her Certification in Record Management. She was a principal speaker throughout the country as an Officer of the American and International Associations of Records Managers on the topics of record management and disaster recovery. Nature was so kind to give Janet real life experience in disaster recovery in 1985. A 100-year rainstorm flooded the county courthouse; official records were wet. Our soloist, Janet, knew of a technique to freeze-dry the records utilizing large freezer trucks. It worked; she and her ensemble preserved the records. and Janet’s story made a record management career sound dangerous and glamourous.

Third Movement (Fast pace, just like the first)

After her retirement, Janet continued to thrive. She travelled close and far (especially enjoying a trip to Asia), consulted on records management, was a car-winning Mary Kay Cosmetics Director, expanded her interest in computer science (programming classes at LCCC); and became the desktop publisher of newsletters for her many organizations, including the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Janet’s violin was always present. A child or an adult might hear Janet play at a church service at the Adventist or Baptist Church and next thing you know, they had free classes with a very accomplished violinist, complete with recitals and delicious snacks.

Janet moved to Primrose Retirement Village in 2018. Her pace slowed but Janet continued to enjoy life, art, music and spending time with friends and family. Despite medical setbacks, including a nasty bout with Covid, Janet never gave up, always making sure to take part in community activities, to work at being at her best, to dress up each day and to enjoy whatever the day brought. The great days were outings with family and friends, the next best days were relaxing at home with her wonderful friend Allison, reading good books, building puzzles, and keeping up on the world news.

Janet is survived by her brother, Ronald Davis (Barbara) of New Mexico: her children Michael Whitehead (Miqen Robinson) of Pennsylvania, Karen Reynolds-Dilks of Arizona; and Laura Ditges (Jeff) of Broomfield CO. She is also survived by six grandchildren (Ryan, Kristen, Andrew, Allison, Zachary and Niles) and six great grandchildren (Gavin, Colin, Eliot, Maya, Mateo and Adi), and many nieces and nephews.

Janet is also survived by friends from each of her movements of life. Her sorority sisters, fellow moms, County employees and colleagues, her Mary Kay crew, her political cronies, her fellow musicians, her fellow art and theatre patrons, her many church friends and all her friends at Primrose.

Janet was proceeded in her death by her husband, Edwin H. Whitehead, in 2007, and by her parents, Joseph Donald Davis in 1998 and Laura Lillian Davis, in 1992.

Services will be held at the Wiedersphan-Radomsky Chapel of the Chimes on July 1, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., with a reception to follow at The Gathering Place. In lieu of flowers, donations may be given to Alliance of Therapy Dogs, PO Box 20227 Cheyenne WY 82003.