Janet Elizabeth Gallagher-Middlebrook

Janet was born to Walter P. Gallagher and Fern Gladys Teske Gallagher February 14, 1953, in Benson, Minnesota.  She was baptized, took first communion and was confirmed in the Church of the Visitation in Danvers, Minnesota.  Janet attended country school for a short time and graduated from Benson High School in 1971.  She spent four wonderful years at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, graduating in 1975 with a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree.  After a year of teaching high school, Janet began working as public relation specialists for a nonprofit organization that collected blood from volunteer donors and provided blood, blood products and services in the Fargo-Moorhead area appearing before many large groups and on television talking about the importance of giving the “gift of life”.  Seeking advancement in that company, Janet accepted a transfer to the El Paso area as the region’s public relation specialists.  A “bold move” she often said for a young professional from Minnesota.  After about a year in El Paso, another opportunity presented itself and she transferred from El Paso to San Angelo, Texas, again as area public relation specialist.  After several corporate realignments, the blood center in San Angelo was closed and Janet took several part-time jobs.  It was during that time she met her future husband, Randall Middlebrook.  It was also during this time that she began working for a financial services company that would eventually become Wells Fargo Advisors, the investment division of Wells Fargo Bank.

In 1999, when Randall had an opportunity to teach in the Houston area Janet decided to “take a chance” and move to the Houston area with Randall.  By this time “we knew we were a good match,” Randall often said.  With Randall teaching, Jan began to solidify her position with Wells Fargo Advisors eventually becoming a Vice President of Compliance.

On July 21, 2001, Janet and Randall were united in marriage surrounded by many friends and relatives at the Church of the Visitation in Danvers, Minnesota.  “I was amazed at the warmth and friendship of all of Janet’s friends that day,” Randall often said.  It was one of the happiest days of Janet and Randall’s life.

During Janet and Randall’s twenty-seven years together, they experienced “many great adventures” as they called them.  Janet and Randall cultivated a love of the performing arts, becoming season ticket holders of Houston’s Theater Under the Stars and Broadway Across America, particularly Les Miserable and Mama Mia .  They enjoyed the Houston Symphony, especially the concert version of the Lord of the Rings music.  And with Houston being the home of the world’s largest rodeo Janet and Randall saw dozens of country-and-western artists such as Clint Black and Lisa Hartman Black, Reba, Willie Nelson, Steve Wariner, Waylon Jennings, Bob Dylan, Vince Gill, The Highwaymen, Robert Earl Keen, Smokey Robinson, Kenny Rogers, and Rod Stewart. Randall also introduced Janet to The Boss , Bruce Springsteen, and by the time of the third concert in Houston, she was ready to tackle the “Badlands”. Randall and Janet considered themselves very fortunate as well to have been able to see their favorite band perform three times, The Eagles .  “ Hotel California ” took her breath away the first time she heard them play it.

Janet retired form Wells Fargo in 2019 with the hopes of checking off many items on her bucket list in retirement; Key West, the Big Five National Parks in the West, Panama, Paris, and many others.  Unfortunately, that was not to be.  Her diabetes and its side effects took their toll on Janet’s health and with the advent of covid-19 and her deteriorating health her ability to travel ended.  As she progressed through 2020 and into 2021 her health steadily deteriorated so much so that in late May 2021, she left home for the last time in an ambulance taking her to the emergency room where she was diagnosed with stage five kidney failure.  After two long stays in hospital and a skilled nursing home facility, Janet was admitted one last time to the emergency room September 7 with multiple urgent conditions.  By the evening of September 8 Janet slipped into a deep sleep and early on the morning of September 9 her heart could not endure any longer as she suffered two cardiac arrests and passed away with Randall and a close friend by her side.

Janet wanted all her friends and family to know that as she struggled mightily with diabetes, she never turned bitter, she never lost hope, and she always remained optimistic.  Janet’s philosophy of life, which she practiced every day of her life, was that love was better than anger, hope was always better than fear, and optimism was always better than despair.

Janet, in her last days, got to enjoy the company of her brother Ron and his wife Jeannie and her husband Randall and several close friends, for which she was grateful.

Janet is survived by her husband Randall of twenty years, her sister Ellie Gallagher Sukow (her longtime friend Bill Nettleton) of Burnsville, Minnesota, and her son Mark Sukow of Lakeville, Minnesota and daughter Sherry Sukow (Jon Hanson) of Minnetonka, Minnesota, her brother Ron Gallagher (Jeannie) of Reno, Nevada, and many cousins, nieces and nephews.