Janet Elizabeth Flack Obituary
DALLAS — Janet Elizabeth Flack, Wyoming Valley's "Designer Extraordinaire," better known as "Jefie," passed away Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018, at her home in Dallas after a long and courageous battle with cancer. She was 69 years old. Born in Wilkes-Barre, Janet graduated from Wyoming Seminary and Endicott College, Beverly, Mass.
After studying Fine Art at State University of New York, Albany, she studied interior design at Harrington College of Design, Chicago, Ill. She was an NCIDQ Certified Interior Designer. She began her career in San Francisco, working with a number of architectural firms, including Marquis Associates, Bond and Brown, and Arthur Gensler and Associates.
She then moved to Philadelphia where she joined the Ling Linquist Partnership. She later worked for Peter Simoncelli and Associates as Director of Interior Design. In 1982 she founded her own firm in Kingston. She later moved the firm a few miles to Wyoming to be closer to her two loving brothers. Janet Flack Interiors specialized in all aspects of commercial and residential space planning and interior design.
Numerous project credits include residences, banks, corporate offices, restaurants, private clubs, professional offices and hospitals. She was particularly proud of her work at the Westmoreland Club in Wilkes Barre where she worked closely with her dear friend and club manager, Robert Williams, as part of a long-term collaborative effort to transform the club into the Five Star Platinum Club and Emerald Club of Distinction that it is today.
She was among the first in our region to incorporate "feng shui" and "green design" into her work. Janet served as Vice President of Professional Development for the Mid-Atlantic States of the International Interior Designers Association where she also served on the Mid Atlantic Advisory Board. She was a member of the Board of Trustees of Harrington College of Design, the Board of Directors of the Anthracite Scenic Trails Association, the Boulevard Club of Naples Florida, the Everheart Museum of Natural History Science and Art, and the Luzerne County Historical Society where she also served as president and the Catherine McAuley Center for homeless women and children.
Janet thrived on community service, and most dear to her heart was her work with the Catherine McAuley Center. In the early 1990s, Janet adopted a family for Christmas through the center. While processing the paperwork, she mentioned that her firm might be able to help by donating design services. Thus was born a very rewarding relationship with a group of strong, bright compassionate and savvy women … the Sisters of Mercy.
Shortly thereafter, Janet was honored to be asked, and graciously accepted a position on the Catherine McAuley Center's Board of Directors where she initiated and managed a number fundraising projects where she donated all design fees and services for building renovations. In 2005, she was thrilled to be named the "Mercy Woman of the Year." Upon acceptance of the award she said, "My invitation to join the Catherine McAuley Board has been a great gift of invaluable evolving friendships that touch so many institutions blessed by the work of the Sisters of Mercy." Janet believed that the stewardship, kindness and compassion exhibited by the Sisters of Mercy and their charisms in helping so many homeless women and children who pass through the McAuley Center each year kept her grounded with gratitude and awareness of how fragile life can be.
Janet was preceded in death by her parents, Charles D. Flack and Joan P. Flack, and her brother, Charles D. "Rusty" Flack Jr. She is survived by her brother, Harold E. "Hal" Flack II, his wife, Jean P. Flack, of Dallas; their children, Harold E. Flack III and his fiancée, Melissa Bayne, of Charlotte, N.C.; Hilary Flack Higgins and her husband, John F. Higgins, of Berwyn; Michael P. Flack and his fiancée, Alison Brittain, of Boston, Mass.; Melissa P. Flack, of New York, N.Y.; sister-in-law, Kathi Flack Genung and her husband, Fred, of Naples, Fla.; her children, Charles D. Flack III, of Harveys Lake; Alex E. Flack and his wife, Melissa J. Flack, of Philadelphia; Jamie A. Flack and her fiancé, Richard Eckman, of Shavertown; and her companion of the last three years, Robert Schalm, of Dallas.
The family would like to sincerely thank Robert Schalm, Mary Erwine of Erwine Home Health Care, Pat Finan Castellano and Cynthia Post Mitchell for their unwavering help, friendship and support through this trying time. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018, in Grace Episcopal Church, 30 Butler St., Kingston, PA 18704.
Father John F. Hartman, Rector of Grace Episcopal Church, will officiate. Interment will follow in Oak Lawn Cemetery, Hanover Township. Friends may call from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21, at the Harold C. Snowdon Funeral Home Inc., 140 N. Main St., Shavertown, PA 18708. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Catherine McAuley Center for Homeless Women and Children, 430 Pittston Ave., Scranton, PA 18505, where Janet's Family intends to sponsor a memorial project in her memory.
