Obituary for Janice Lahr Janice Hedeman Lahr was born in Boston Massachusetts on January 10, 1923. She lived there for five years until her parents Madeline and Alexander Hedeman moved to New York city. Janice went to public school in Long Beach Long Island New York until she was 16 years old.
It was during the great depression and her parents had just started a business So they sent her to a college preparatory Boarding school in Tarrytown on the Hudson New York. The name of the school was Highland Manor school for girls. The school later move to Redbank New Jersey which was President Woodrow Wilson‘s old estate.
She loved that school and had a great time there. Her parents then wanted her home after a year and a half and she was then sent to a private school in New York City named Robert Louis Stevenson. She graduated from there.
The graduation was held in Carnegie Hall in June 1941. After graduating Janice attended the University of Wisconsin. After two years there she entered a special pilot program for data processing in business administration.
World War II broke out December 7, 1941. In 1943 her brother was drafted into service and her parents said she must come home to learn the family business in case anything happened to her brother. After 3 1/2 years at the University she return to New York City and went to work in the family business located just off fifth Avenue a few blocks from New York University.
Janice enrolled in New York university and took some classes in interior design which she could attend at lunchtime. She loved the classes and was offered a job by the professor at his store in New Jersey which of course she could not take. In 1945 she married Lawrence Sakin who was from Great Neck, New York.
She had met Larry while at the University of Wisconsin. The marriage took place at the Waldorf Astoria hotel. Larry was stationed in Boston.
The service found out that he had asthma and he was discharged. It was then that Janice and Larry moved to Tucson for his health. They opened a women’s apparel shop on fifth street ( now 6th) and Tucson Boulevard in Tucson Arizona.
The shop was in the first Shopping Center outside of the downtown. It was built by Starkweather, a prominent architect at the time. The store eventually moved downtown on Pennington Street next to Cele Peterson’s, and grew to a small chain with the store in Mesa Arizona and one on East Speedway at Wilmot.
Janice and Larry had three children: The eldest Victoria Lynn Sakin now Victoria Schwager, Penny Sue Sakin, deceased, and Patricia Ann Sakin (Lahr) now Patricia Small. Janice and Larry Sakin were divorced in 1955. Janice then returned to her lifelong wish to finish her education.
She return to college at the University of Arizona to get a degree in business administration. She then went on to law school and was granted admission as a part time student. She was granted part-time status because she had a family with two children to take care of and also her own elderly parents who moved from New York to Tucson and purchased the home next-door.
Janice was the last part time student admitted to the University of Arizona law school. It took her six years to complete the course work. She graduated in 1968 and married Herbert Lahr.
When Janice graduated in 1968, the family celebrated her marriage and a three-way graduation. Her daughter Vicki, from the University of Arizona with a teaching degree, Patty from high school and Janice, with a doctorate of jurisprudence. Herbert had become a senior partner in the firm of Feldman Wolin and Lahr.
To celebrate everything, the whole family went to the Orient. Janice and Herbert traveled all over together, and were best friends to each other. Herbert passed away in 2002 at the age of 73, he was six years younger than Janice.
Janice loved her job as a prosecutor for the city of Tucson. She was one of the first women prosecutors for the city of Tucson, and the first woman attorney to retire from that office after serving there 32 years. She was admired by foe and co-workers alike and was remembered by many.
She would encourage people to go back to school if they had not completed their education in a timely way. She told them that it was never too late or they could never be too old. She was an example of just such a person who went back to school and at the same time she was a single mother bringing up two children.
She felt blessed that she had wonderful parents that supported her desire to finish her education and helped her in many ways after her divorce. In 2009 Janice had a stroke. She felt blessed to have the help of a friend and nurse who had taken care of Herb after his stroke: Margaret Gonzales Cross, and her longtime housekeeper/best friend Ella Kunkle.
Janice also recognized the support of her children and especially her son in law: Michael Schwager, who took care of her affairs. Janice is survived by her children and their spouses Vicki Schwager( Michael Schwager) and Pat Small (Jon Small). Her grandchildren and their spouses Dara Perry (Brad Perry) and David Schwager (Allison Schwager), and three great grandchildren: Griffin Schwager, Ella Schwager, and Barron Schwager Janice, who wrote this added: Janice and Herbert want to wish them all, Long, Health, Happy and Fruitful lives…… In lieu of flowers please make a donation to your favorite charity, thank you.
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