Janet Wayne Jones Outerbridge

May 28, 1936 - June 25, 2026 Janet was born to Cortland and Helen Jones in Stamford, Connecticut. 

She grew up in the village of High Ridge in North Stamford and she and her older sister Audrey were known as the “princesses of High Ridge.” Her father owned the local grocery store and she developed her life long sweet tooth from all the day old goodies her father would bring home for the girls.

Janet was an active member of the High Ridge Methodist Church all the years she lived in Stamford. As a teenager and young mother, she played the piano for the children’s Sunday School every week. Her favorite children’s song was Jesus Loves Me. She was always involved in the annual church fair, which was the big social event of the village. Eventually, she and her husband John bought the old church parsonage and raised their children there until they moved to Florida in 1970.

Janet went on a vacation to Bermuda with her friend Carolyn Hooper when she was 18. Her father told her not to fall in love with one of those island boys, but of course she did. She met her future husband, John, at a beach party in Bermuda. They were married in 1956 in Connecticut.

Janet was the family historian. She and her sister compiled all the family pictures and history and donated them to the Stamford Historical Society, which is still on display there. Janet was a founding member of Christ United Methodist (now Global Methodist) in Venice, Florida. She had a heart for missions and facilitated the “Star Fish” program for children in Haiti for many years, soliciting sponsors, and sending small packages of crayons and toys for hundreds of children each year. She went on numerous mission trips to Haiti, Guatemala, and the Appalachian mountains with the church youth group. She taught Sunday School for most of her adult life.

Janet loved children. She raised four of her own - Nina, Pam, Kirby and Holly - as well as 26 foster children over the years. She always had an open door for any child who needed a home. She was the neighborhood baby sitter, and would always round up all the children to take them to Sunday school and vacation bible school. Janet moved to Arkansas in 2019 to live with Pam and her husband Jeff. 

Janet attended the Open Door Sunday school class at Trinity United Methodist in Little Rock and made many good friends there. When it got too hard for her to physically attend church, she would spend Sunday mornings with her iPad, watching services from several churches online. Pam retired from teaching school in 2021 and began teaching piano in the home. Janet loved listening to the students play. She enjoyed watching old game shows, especially “The Price is Right,”and playing chicken foot dominoes.

Janet was predeceased by her parents and her husband John. She is survived by her sister Audrey Dean, children Nina (Jeff), Pam (Jeff), Kirby (Cheryl) and Holly, thirteen grandchildren and fifteen great grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. She will be sorely missed but the family is grateful for the 90 years we had together, and we know we will see her again.