Janette Clark Pike of Fairhope, Alabama (age 78) passed away peacefully on July 30, 2019.
Janette, a daughter of the late Julius Edwin Clark and the late Lela Belle Timbes Clark, grew up in Iuka, Mississippi. She graduated from Iuka High School where she stood out as a basketball player and drummer.
Janette was fiercely independent and driven. At a time when few women went to college, let alone studied science, she graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi (where she was a member of Delta Zeta sorority) with a degree in chemistry and received a medical technology degree from Emory University.
She worked for many years as a medical technologist at Emory University and at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
At Emory, she met her husband, Isadore (Izzy) Pike, M.D., whom she married in 1964. Together, they raised two daughters, both of whom reflect Janette's determined values.
Janette always liked to say that she had never met a stranger. And it was true. She was a gifted storyteller and loved talking to anyone she met. She often would know relatives of the people she met, especially if they happened to have family in Mississippi, Georgia or Alabama.
Never one to shy away from a debate, she engaged with a twinkle in her eye and a grin on her face. She was happiest roaming the back halls of antique shops, flea markets and yard sales in search of a good deal and a new friend. All the better with chocolate candy in one hand and a Diet Coke in the other.
After living in many different places (Atlanta, Georgia; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Madrid, Spain; Asheville, North Carolina; Evansville, Indiana; Princeton, New Jersey; Raleigh, North Carolina), she and Izzy settled in Fairhope, Alabama, and spent the last 14 years there.
She loved walking Fairhope Avenue with her husband and grandchildren, showing off Fairhope to visitors, and supporting various Fairhope causes and institutions.
Janette is survived by Izzy, her husband of 55 years; her two daughters, Julie Pike Gellenthien (TTom) and Jill Pike Lyttle (Eric), both of Arlington, Virginia; and her four grandchildren, Lela Alice Gellenthien, William Pike Gellenthien, Hykie Eloise Lyttle and Emmy Clark Lyttle, all of Arlington, Virginia.
Her sister, Patsy Clark Pace preceded her in death.
A memorial service will be held at the Fairhope United Methodist Church, 155 S. Section St., Fairhope, Alabama on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2019 at 11 a.m.
The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Thomas Hospital Foundation, P.O. Box 929, Fairhope, AL 36533-0929.
Condolences may be rendered at www.wolfefuneralhomes.com.
Arrangements by Wolfe-Bayview Funeral Homes & Crematory Inc., 19698 Greeno Road, Fairhope, AL 36532, 251-990-7775, www.wolfefuneralhomes.com.
