Cover photo for Janet Johnson Burnett's Obituary
Janet Johnson Burnett Profile Photo
In Memory Of
Janet Johnson Burnett
1929 2021

Janet Johnson Burnett

April 1, 1929 — April 1, 2021

Janet "Jan" Johnson Burnett, 92, of Topeka, passed away Thursday, April 1, 2021 at Brewster Place after a fight with cancer.

Born April 1, 1929, in Manhattan, Kansas, the daughter of George A. and Alta M. Johnson, Jan had a happy childhood growing up with two sisters and one brother. A lifelong Kansan, she spent her childhood in Manhattan, Norton, Garden City, and Salina. She graduated from Salina High School and attended Kansas State University and Marymount College.

She married William B. Greiner in 1950, they later divorced. In 1959, she married William H. Burnett and they moved to Topeka in 1963, where Jan remained until her passing.

Jan was a Master Tole Painter. She along with her husband, Will, founded and owned Jan's Tole Shop and Village Crafts in Topeka from 1967 until 1991. She taught hundreds of people the art of decorative painting during her lifetime, touching and enriching the lives of all who knew her. Her radiant smile and unmistakable laugh graced the lives of all who knew her. She was active in the Decorative Painter's Society. She also supported Washburn University, and the Topeka Humane Society. Later in life, her work had become renowned, as one of her works was shown in the White House at the request of Laura Bush.

Jan is dearly missed by her two children, Bill Greiner and his wife, Pamela and Rebecca Autry and her husband, Charles R. Over the years, both Becky and Bill were blessed with Jan's love and guidance. She is also survived by four grandchildren, C.J. Autry, Vince Autry, Andrea Rhodes, and Amy Greiner; three step-grandchildren, Lexi Haines, Heather Humble, and Matt Stratton; two great-granddaughters; a step-great-grandson; and several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband Will, along with her parents, George and Alta Johnson. She was also preceded in death by her three siblings, Joanne Aringdale of Scottsbluff, Neb., Jane Jacobs Walker of Seattle, Wash., and George F. Johnson of Salina, Kan.

A celebration of life visitation will be from 3-5pm Monday, April 12, 2021 at Mount Hope Cemetery & Funeral Chapel, 4700 SW 17th St., Topeka. Private interment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to Midland Hospice, 200 SW Frazier Cir, Topeka, KS 66603 or Brewster Foundation, 1205 SW 29th St, Topeka, KS 66611.

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Service Schedule

Past Services

Visitation

Monday, April 12, 2021

3:00 - 5:00 pm (Central time)

Mount Hope Cemetery & Funeral Chapel

4700 Southwest 17th Street, Topeka, KS 66604

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