Janelle Marie Clausen Hayes

Janelle Marie Clausen Hayes, 53, of Charlotte, left us for her eternal home on May 10th, after a nine month brave and spirit filled battle against a brain tumor. After graduating from Central High School in Independence, OR, Janelle attended Taylor University in Upland, IN where she earned her degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis on special needs children. Ken and Janelle married shortly after college and moved to St. Louis, MO to start their lives and careers. The family relocated to Charlotte in 1987 and moved into a house where they have remained for the last 25 years. After holding teacher positions in St. Louis, Janelle became a stay at home mom for a few years and then joined the teaching staff of Sharon Baptist Weekday School in 1995. In 1998 she became the Director of Curriculum at the school, and stayed in that position until January 2012 when she resigned to focus on the cancer battle. In addition to her professional career, Janelle spent a lot of her personal time on numerous "crafty" activities ranging from the preservation/presentation of photos to the design of cards for every occasion. Her paper crafting pursuits also spawned the popular Show & Tell Blog with an international following. In all things, Janelle's faith was the center piece of who she was and available in an unassuming way for all to see and admire. Survivors include her husband of 31 years Ken; daughter and son-in-law Britt and Kenneth Freeman of Raleigh; son Ian of Charlotte; mother Jessie Clausen, and brother, Bob Clausen both of Albany, OR. Also surviving is her mother-in-law Evelyn Hayes of Melbourne, FL; sister-in-laws Janis Tobias of Platte City, MO; Lynne Bolinger of Kokomo, IN; Kris Amerson of Granada Hills, CA and many Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Nieces & Nephews. She was preceded in death by her father, Robert D. Clausen and father-in-law, Kenneth M. Hayes. In lieu of flowers, the family would be honored to have contributions directed to either Sharon Baptist Church to be used for tuition scholarships to the weekday school or to Steele Creek Church of Charlotte to be used for their VISION Fund. We would also like to thank the many people who have been such a blessing to us over the last several months providing meals, running errands, sitting and praying with us and doing so many other practical things that needed to be done. Also we are so grateful for the care given to us by the staffs at Pineville Radiation Therapy, Mecklenburg Medical Group Oncology Team, and Hospice of Charlotte. *For additional information regarding memorial contributions in Janelle's name, please refer to the upper left column and select "Place A Donation". -

Visitation Details

Monday, May 14th, 2012 6:00pm - 8:00pm, Sharon Baptist Church

Service Information

Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 7:00pm, Steele Creek Church of Charlotte

Interment Details

Forest Lawn East Cemetery