Janet Leona Meland

September 19, 1932 - February 9, 2022

Janet L. Meland, age 89 of Glendive, Montana, passed away on Wednesday, February 9, 2022, at the Glendive Medical Center in Glendive. A Funeral Service will be on Tuesday, February 15, 2022, at 2:00 PM, at Zion Lutheran Church in Glendive with Pastor Brenda Frelsi and Pastor Avis Anderson officiating. Pie and coffee will be served at the church. Interment will follow in the Dawson County Cemetery in Glendive. Silha Funeral Home of Glendive has been entrusted with the arrangements. Janet Leona Meland was born in Duluth, Minnesota, on September 19, 1932. Her parents, Violet (Rustad) and Walter Meland felt so blessed! They would go on to have five more children, but Janet was the oldest and the wisest one. In 1942, the family moved to Glendive, and shortly thereafter joined Zion Lutheran Church on Power Street. It was the center of their lives from then on. Janet attended Glendive Public Schools and graduated from DCHS in 1950. She went to work for the Public Health Office, and before too long she was hired as a telephone operator by Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company. She remained there and worked her way up to Chief Operator. She stayed through the Company’s name changes and the many technological changes, and when operator services moved from Glendive, she retired. She opened Answering by Janet, and worked from the home she and her Mother shared. In those days, many of the oilfield companies and local businesses relied on her to answer their phones and transfer their messages efficiently; air to ground services were eventually added. When she decided to close the service, she joined the staff at Zion Lutheran as the office secretary. After ten years of being the friendly face at the desk she retired. Service was an important part of Janet’s life. She was a lifelong member of Telephone Pioneers of America, served on the Board of the Frontier Gateway Museum, was a Trustee for Dawson Community College, held various offices in Beta Sigma Phi, and was an enthusiastic member of Business and Professional Women. She taught Sunday School and was the Sunday School Superintendent for many years, and always sang in the choir and was a member of Church Council. She was serving on Zion’s Memorial Committee at the time of her passing. Janet’s name was at the top of many “who-to-ask” lists, because whether you needed someone to make the kids a cake, go to jail to raise money for March of Dimes (Jail and Bail), join in a shopping trip to the Attic or Hart-Albin, canvas the neighborhood for a fundraising campaign, provide temporary housing for someone visiting, or buy you a cup of coffee and a piece of pie, she never said no. Not once. Her generosity was well known and much appreciated. Janet was preceded in death by her parents and two brothers, William and Richard. She is survived by her sister, Marie Meland of Glendive; her brothers, Herb (Norla) Meland of Casper, Wyoming; and Jim Meland (Bonnie) of Spokane, Washington; her nieces, Christine Meland of Bozeman, Montana; Joelle (Shane) Pattison of White Settlement, Texas and Joelle’s father Dick Kutzler of Glendive; Tina Meland of Liberty Lake, Washington; her nephews, Kelly (Irma) Meland of Cleburne, Texas; Steven Meland of Glendive and Chase (Sami) Colbrese of Billings, and their Mother Sue Colbrese of Glendive; and Eric Meland of Spokane. Also surviving are her great-nieces, Erin (Chris) Paschel of Cleburne, Texas; Paige Grassman and Joe of Wilsonville, Oregon, and Paige’s father, Brentie (Mindi) of Power, Montana; Anna Meland of Glendive, and Blaise Pattison of White Settlement, Texas; her great-nephews, Heath (Kim) of Cleburne, Texas, Kendon Meland of Glendive, and Jackson Meland of Spokane, Washington. We, her family, will remember Janet as a kind, loving soul who gave the warmest hugs. Hugs to you, sweet Janet. We will miss you. Memorials are suggested to Zion Lutheran Loaves and Fishes, Frontier Gateway Museum, or the Dawson County Food Bank. Remembrances and condolences can be shared with the family at: www.silhafuneralhomes.com.