BOONE, Iowa—Janet Elizabeth (Thomas) Tait, age 88 of Boone, Iowa entered into Heaven on March 6, 2025 at Westhaven Community after a lengthy battle with cancer. She had been a resident of Boone since October, 1973.
She was born on July 4, 1936 in Hollywood, California, the daughter of Richard E. and Mary Elizabeth [“Betty”] (Gregg) Thomas, the oldest of three children that included brothers David and Gary. She was a 1954 graduate of Southwest High School in Minneapolis and a 1958 graduate of Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa with a degree in elementary education. She taught kindergarten briefly at Grant Wood Elementary School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
On November 16, 1958, she married James Tait of Boone, Iowa at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Janet and Jim had 3 children: Katherine Elizabeth [“Kathie”], Lynne Marie, and James [“Scotty”]. They moved to Richfield, Minnesota where they lived for a number of years, then built a home in Apple Valley, Minnesota. They moved to a home in south Minneapolis for several years before moving to Boone, Iowa in October 1973.
She worked at Iowa State University in the Biology Program for 25 years until her retirement in 2010. She was a member of the AFSCME Council 61 Iowa State University clerical local union and later became president. She was a member of and secretary for the Boone Habitat for Humanity for 24 years. She was also secretary of the Board of Directors of the Boone County Historical Society for 10 years, volunteered at the History Center doing collections inventory and genealogy and gave tours of the Mamie Eisenhower Birthplace. She later became president of the History Center Board for a short time until 2019.
Janet was a lifetime member of the Episcopal Church where she played the organ for a few years, was a member of the Altar Guild and was church co-treasurer for nearly 10 years. She also attended Open Bible Church of Boone with her son and his family where she volunteered with vacation Bible school and was part of a sewing group making quilts for homeless people and others in need.
Janet was an avid reader, loved to knit and crochet and do counted cross-stitching. She sewed clothes for her girls when they were little, as well as ball gowns and wedding dresses for others. In her retirement she spent time working jigsaw and crossword puzzles, and loved watching Hallmark movies. She was interested in genealogy, especially her brother David’s complete family genealogy records, and she did a small amount of research to put together the Tait and Comstock family records.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Jim in 1991, daughter Lynne Marie Weldon in 2012 and her brother David Thomas in 2017. Survivors include her children Kathie and husband Kevin Cottrell of Boone and Scotty and wife Pam Tait of Dayton, Iowa, 11 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren, all of Iowa.
Memorial services will be held at the Open Bible Church in Boone, Iowa on March 15, 2025 at 2:00. Family will be available at 1:00 to greet friends. A private family burial will be at Linwood Park Cemetery in Boone.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be directed to the family to use at their discretion.
Online condolences can be left at www.schroedefuneral.com
Janet Tait, 88, Boone, Iowa
