Jane “Janie” Ellen Calderón was relieved of her ailing earthly body and passed on to eternity to be with her messiah, Yeshua of Nazareth, on October 8, 2022 at the age of 70.

Janie was born in Queens, NY to Harold and Edythe (née Kusnick) Packman on February 29, 1952. She loved to dance and took formal lessons in ballet, African, Hindu, Flamenco, and belly dancing from kindergarten through college. She also enjoyed Latin dancing while in college. After she became a Christian, she focused her dance efforts on Praise Dancing and Latin dancing at family gatherings. Her love for nature began at a young age, as she often kept a garden and had several birds as pets. She excelled at school, skipping a grade in elementary school. She enjoyed the perks of the gifted program where she was able to tend a garden and begin her journey with foreign languages.

While attending Queens College and obtaining a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology, she met her husband, Jaime A. Calderón in October of 1971 while attending a party at the Latin American Student Association. Their shared love for Latin dancing sparked their relationship, and they were married on January 20, 1974. They went on to have three children, Jaime (Jim), Josh, and Joanna, and became loving grandparents to Tatyana, Elyana, Lorenzo, Soraya, Isabella, and Elijah.

Janie loved all things multicultural and cherished her time living overseas in Ecuador, Jaime’s motherland. She not only was a loving, patient, kind, and devoted mother and grandmother, but she was a sacrificing daughter and daughter-in-law who cared for her ailing parents (Harold and Edythe Packman) and mother-in-law (Isabel Romo-Leroux Calderón) with patience and devotion.

Janie was passionate about teaching and made use of her love and acceptance of all things multicultural to educate students in the English as a Second or Other Language program both in Ecuador and in the USA. She enjoyed the special ‘aha’ moments when teaching preschool just as much as high school and all the grades in between.

Most importantly, Janie would light up and get a special twinkle in her eyes when she spoke of her savior, her messiah, Jesus Christ who had seen her and loved her and changed her from within. She never lost this faith despite difficult circumstances that hit her all throughout her Christian walk. She knew that even though she didn’t always understand God’s ways, He was still good and in control. No matter what.

Janie was predeceased by Michele Packman (sister), Harold and Edythe Packman (parents), and Ida Efraim (aunt). She leaves behind her loving husband of 48 years, Jaime, her 3 children Jaime (Bruni) Calderón, Josh Calderón, Joanna (Matt) Stoverink, as well as her 6 grandchildren Tatyana (Marvin) Barcenes, Elyana, Lorenzo, Soraya, Isabella, and Elijah.

Janie will be missed dearly by her church family at Open Bible Baptist Church in Orange City, as well as her childhood friends from NYC and her fellow coworkers and students from all the years of her teaching career. Her legacy of love for her fellow man regardless of their color, culture, religion, educational status, or other status aside from child of God will continue as we strive to love like she did. 

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