Janet Lois (Gilbert) Rice (1946 - 2016)

Born 4 Sep 1946 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Ancestors

Daughter of Arthur Edward Gilbert and Regina Frances (Cohen) Gilbert

Died 9 Jan 2016 at age 69 in Waukegan, Illinois

Janet (Gilbert) Rice has Jewish Roots.

Biography

Janet was born on September 4, 1946 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Arthur Gilbert and Regina Cohen.

Her first home was on Glen Echo Road in Philadelphia where her parents employed a kind and caring live-in housekeeper whom she adored. Her grandfather, David Cohen, sometimes took her to dine at Bookbinder's. She fondly remembered her Uncle Sam and Aunt Mollie.

Janet attended Springside School, a private all-girls school, in Chestnut Hill. She was a member of Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park and admired Rabbi Bertram Korn. She enjoyed swimming at Beachcomber Swim Club in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. She danced on American Bandstand where she met and once dated Bobby Rydell.

She was slated for debutante status but instead was residing at the Rebecca Gratz House near 6th and Spruce Streets in Philadelphia. One day, while walking past McCall School near 7th and Delancey Streets, she met Joseph Bianchi who was playing basketball in the school yard. She was about 16 and he was about 18. Their parents were opposed to the match for religious reasons. Joseph's parents wanted him to marry Marie, an Italian girl from South Philadelphia, whom he had previously dated for about six months. Janet's parents wanted her to marry someone Jewish.

To place distance between them, Joseph’s father took him on a road trip to visit his Uncle Joe Bianchi in Mount Shasta, California. However, upon his return to Philadelphia, they continued dating. When Janet informed her parents that she was pregnant, they advised her to place the baby for adoption. She chose to keep the baby and to marry Joseph.

They intended to raise their child in the Roman Catholic religion. Janet attended church classes and pre-marriage counseling for conversion but didn’t renounce her faith. They were married and their daughter, JoAnn Bianchi, was born and baptized.

They resided with Joseph's family at 506 S. 7th Street. His parents didn't like Janet for various reasons. Among these was her lack of cooking and cleaning skills, which were high values for proper wives in their family and community.

Janet said this was about the time Joseph was rummaging through a dresser drawer in his parent's bedroom and discovered adoption papers. He confronted his parents but they denied he was adopted. They told him the papers belonged to Joseph's father, also named Joseph Bianchi, who was adopted. Joseph adored his parents, but still believed the papers were his, and began drinking.

About two years later, they moved next door to 508 S. 7th Street. After the birth of their second child, they moved to Mulberry Street in Philadelphia. About 1969, Janet left, with her two young daughters, and filed for divorce.

She became employed at a jewelry store. Soon afterwards, she began dyeing her naturally brown hair red and using J.J. as a nickname.

In the early 1970s, Janet moved to Springfield, Pennsylvania. She then relocated to Maryland and had a son. She was a sales representative for Tupperware and for World Book Encyclopedia. In the late 1970s, she was diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening illness and returned to Philadelphia to be near family for support during recovery.

She moved to Scottsdale, Arizona in the late 1980s. In the early 1990s, she brought her ailing mother, Regina (Cohen) Gilbert, from Philadelphia to reside with her in Arizona. Her mother passed away in May 1994.

Janet was a top-ranking sales representative for Eli Lilly and for Progressive Insurance in the mid-2000s in California.

In October 2015, she was hit by a vehicle while crossing a street and suffered injuries. She passed away on January 9, 2016 in Waukegan, Illinois. Her funeral was held in Waukegan and she was cremated. Her death certificate states that her ashes were interred at Mount Olivet Cemetery but they have no record of her there. A family member said Janet had requested her ashes be driven to California and spread upon the Pacific Ocean but doesn't know if this was done.

Sources

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 27 July 2017, 20:17), entry for Janet Lois Gilbert(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:LTJB-BPZ); contributed by various users.

• Birth Certificate of Janet (Gilbert) Rice. Personal copy in the files of JoAnn Brown.

• Death Certificate of Janet (Gilbert) Rice. Personal copy in the files of JoAnn Brown.

• Obituary of Janet (Gilbert) Rice. Jan 2016.

• [1] Blog comment of Janet Gilbert-Rice. 23 Jan 2013. Dunk & Crumble. Date Accessed: August 18, 2017.

• Gilbert, Regina Cohen. Personal recollection, as told to JoAnn Brown.

• Rice, Janet Gilbert. Personal recollection, as told to JoAnn Brown.

• Bianchi, Joseph. Personal recollection, as told to JoAnn Brown.

• Bianchi, Edith (Marano). Personal recollection, as told to JoAnn Brown.

• Brown, JoAnn Bianchi. Personal recollection.

• Paternal relationship is confirmed by an AncestryDNA test match between JoAnn Brown and her third cousin. Their most-recent common ancestors are their 2nd great grandparents, Aharon Dosick and Hanna Hurwitz. Predicted relationship from AncestryDNA: 3rd-4th Cousins, based on sharing 127 cM across 6 segments. Confidence: Extremely High.

• Paternal relationship is confirmed by an AncestryDNA test match between JoAnn Brown and her third cousin. Their most-recent common ancestors are their 2nd great grandparents, Aharon Dosick and Hanna Hurwitz. Predicted relationship from AncestryDNA: 3rd-4th Cousins, based on sharing 120 cM across 8 segments. Confidence: Extremely High.