Janet I. Penn

Janet I. Penn, née Stahlschmidt, passed away on September 9, 2026, in St. Louis, Missouri, shortly following a brief illness, surrounded by her loving family and the peace of God. She was 88.

Born on October 27, 1937, in West Alton, Missouri, Janet built a life centered on love, faith, family, and simple joys shared with others. She graduated from St. Charles High School in 1956 and went on to work as a secretary in several places. It was during those working years, at Daybright, that she met her husband, Francis P. “Frank” Penn, beginning a marriage that they shared for 60 years together, until Frank’s passing in 2024.

Janet will be remembered as a caring and selfless woman who put others before herself, even in her final moments. She was sociable and warm, the kind of person who could strike up a conversation with anyone because, to her, there were no strangers. Loving, kind, and deeply committed to her faith, she also carried a wonderful sense of humor. She was witty, silly, fun, and funny, always ready for a practical joke or happy to laugh along when one was played on her. Her humility and joyful spirit made people feel at ease in her presence.

Nothing mattered more to Janet than her family. She loved being surrounded by those she cherished most, and her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were among her proudest blessings. She also found happiness in the everyday pleasures that made life sweet: playing cards, visiting the casino, enjoying bingo whether luck was with her or not, baking, working crosswords, tending to flowers, doing puzzles, and hunting for treasures at garage sales and thrift stores.

She is survived by her daughters, Leslie Fogarty and her husband Jim, Beth Archibald and her husband Dan, and Nikki McCarthy. She also leaves her beloved grandchildren, Brandon Cook and his wife Jen, Samantha Cook, Hannah Archibald, Olivia Archibald, Jimmy Fogarty and his wife Ashley, Jennifer Craig and her husband Dustin, and Ashleigh Marsh and her husband Ricky. Janet’s love continues through her great-grandchildren Liam, Archie, Lucy, Hunter, Riley, Gentry, Lillian, Lynnleigh, and Johnathan. She is also survived by her brother, Jerry Stahlschmidt, and her sister, Marie Needham. Each of them was part of the family circle she held so close, and her love for them was constant and enduring.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Francis P. “Frank” Penn; her parents, Robert and Marie Stahlschmidt; and her siblings Geraldine “Dub” Boschert, Larry Stahlschmidt, Frank Stahlschmidt, Rosemary Mabrey, Donald Stahlschmidt, Tony Stahlschmidt, Sylvia Preston, Robert Stahlschmidt, Joan Fields, James Stahlschmidt, and Anita Stimac.

Janet’s life was marked by devotion—to her husband, to her family, to her faith, and to the people she met along the way. She leaves behind memories of laughter, generosity, conversation, and steadfast love. She will be deeply missed and tenderly remembered by all who were blessed to know her.