Mount Olivet Funeral Home and Cemetery

She was born April 8, 1954, to Joseph and Ernestine (Jacobs) Stuck. Janet attended St. Joseph Cathedral School and graduated from LeBlond High School in 1972. She received her BSEd and MSEd degrees from Northwest Missouri State University. While at Northwest, Janet was a member of the university’s debate team that won the national championship in 1977.She taught high school English, speech and debate at LeBlond, Savannah, and Maryville high schools, and also taught courses at Northwest and Missouri Western State University. After retiring from full-time teaching, Janet worked as a consultant for Missouri Western’s Prairie Lands Writing Project, assisting rural schools in improving their English instruction.Janet was an enthusiastic and avid theater goer, going to musicals and other theatrical productions in Kansas City and New York. As a member of Robidoux Resident Theater, she met her husband, Mark Jelavich, a Northwest professor, and they married in 1982.Janet and her family also enjoyed travelling in both North America and Europe. They spent most of their married life in Maryville. After retirement in 2013, they moved to Kansas City.Janet was also devoted follower and supporter of her children’s activities, including her daughter’s golf and swimming and her son’s football and wrestling. She subsequently enjoyed watching them blossom in their respective careers, her daughter as a college admissions director and her son as a research chemist.Besides her husband, Janet is survived by her daughter, Abigail Jelavich (Kerry Poppa) San Mateo, California; her son, Michael Jelavich (Amanda) and grandson, Vincent, Rahway, New Jersey; sisters, Barbara, Deborah, and Mary Margaret, all of Kansas City; brothers, Larry Stuck (Maria), Renton, Washington, and Dennis Stuck (Lisa), Steven Stuck (Bea), Richard Stuck, and Robert Stuck, all of St. Joseph; and numerous nieces and nephews. Janet also leaves behind many friends, including her “Big Chill” group of Northwest roommates; former teachers; fellow theater goers; and her best friend, Rebecca Dierking.Mass of Christ... (Maryville Daily Forum)