Janet Rose Faith Bowman started her new adventure in heaven on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, joining her husband, Ron Bowman; brothers, John Faith, Peter Faith, Andrew Faith, Daniel Faith; her sister, Mary Faith, and her parents, John and Genevieve Faith.
She was one of the middle kids in a family of 12 children. Her brothers and sisters are John (Lynda), Peter (Terri), Anne Marie (Jim Schwankl), Stephen, Tony (Connie), Daniel, Andy (Dru), Jerome, Joe (Helen), Mary, and Gerard (Sharon).
Janet had two children, Christopher Arthur (Rachel) Favreau, born in 1977 and Faith Vanessa Boyd (Brian Melvin) born in 1979. From Christopher and Faith there were six grandchildren, Genevieve Faith, Brittanie (Josh Jenkins), Jonathan Boyd, Samuel Favreau, Vanessa Boyd, Evelyn Favreau and three great-grandchildren, Bentley Jenkins, Jayden Jenkins and Liam Jenkins.
Janet was born in Morris, Minnesota on Tuesday, April 13, 1948, at 1:45 a.m. and was 6 lbs. and 6 1/3 oz. Her mom, Genevieve, described her as a little bigger than her oldest brother Johnny and didn’t think she looked like anyone special yet, just a little blondie. Her mom thought she should have been named Jane (just plain Jane) however, Johnny wanted her to be named Janet and her father wanted to name her Linda Rose. So, they decided on Janet Rose.
Janet lived in Minnesota until she graduated college. She first lived in Morris until her middle school years. The Faith family then moved to Browerville where she met her childhood best friend Suzie Lorentz (still close friends to this day). After a short time, her family moved to Chokio where she spent her high school years.
Her father, John Faith Sr., was a master violinist, music and band teacher. Her mother, Genevieve, was a 2nd Lt. in the U.S. Army and nurse, then took care of the large family full time. Janet was always surrounded by music and was encouraged to play. She learned to play several instruments including the French horn and the piano. It was during high school she learned to play the organ at church services with the guidance of the organist, Mrs. Bernice Schuster at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Chokio. Janet always said that this was one of the best skills she ever learned and was grateful that Mrs. Schuster taught her. Janet graduated high school in 1966. At college Janet earned her Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Music Education from the University of Minnesota Morris campus in 1970. In addition to her education, Janet was a member of the dance band, Faith and Believers, from 1967 to 1971 which played current hits of the time.
Janet began her career as a student teacher of music in Morris, Minn., and then after a year moved to teaching full time for three years in Marshall, Minn., until 1973. Janet then moved to Virginia and stayed with her brother Andy in Norfolk while she worked at various places. During this time, she met Richard Favreau who proposed shortly thereafter. They bought a house on Griffon Street in Portsmouth, Va. While there they had Christopher and Faith. They were divorced in 1981. She remarried and moved to Newport News. During this time, Janet played church services at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church and various other churches in the Hampton Roads area. Her primary job was teaching music to elementary school students at the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Private School until 1995. In 1995 she divorced again and met Ronald Bowman through a newspaper classified ad. Ron lived in Mathews and soon they found a wonderful shack in Onemo in Mathews they named “Mayfall Inn.” Ron and Janet were married in 1996 on Bethel Beach right down the road from their home. Over the years and many hurricanes later they built a house together over a four-car garage. Ron and Janet were together for over 25 years. Janet taught music at Lee-Jackson (now Mathews) Elementary School until she retired in 2013.
After retirement she stayed very busy. Janet was the music director at Mathews Baptist Church for the traditional service where she played the piano. She was a member of the Mathews Baptist WMU with whom she played music and sang at the nursing home in town. She attended Bible study meetings which she looked forward to. She also enjoyed playing French horn in the Courthouse Community Orchestra and church services for Mathews Baptist (her primary church of many years) and Central United Methodist. Her last service was on Sunday, June 1, 2025 where she played “I’ll Fly Away.”
A celebration of life for Janet will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 28, 2025, at Mathews Baptist Church, Hudgins, Virginia. A reception will be held following the service. All are welcome. Please dress colorfully as Janet loved bright colorful clothes. Janet’s ashes will be taken to Chokio, Minn., in September to be with her family. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Mathews Baptist Church or Central United Methodist Church. Special thanks to Mathews Baptist Church and Faulkner Funeral Homes, Foster-Faulkner Chapel, Mathews.