Janet Lee Bain

Janet Lee (Gibson) Bain was born to her parents Harry and Margaret (Powers) Gibson, Jr. on July 25, 1934, in Des Moines, IA. Janet was married to Bill Bain and together they raised her 5 children after moving to Colfax in 1964. Aside from raising her children, Janet started her own house cleaning business before retiring in 1998. After many years of living in Iowa and Kansas, Janet moved to Minnesota in 2012.

Janet loved animals and cared for many pet dogs and horses throughout her life, as well as pet raccoons, goats, peacocks, and turtle doves. Janet was never without a dog by her side. She passed on this love of animals to her children and grandchildren. Janet thoroughly enjoyed reading, especially her favorite book, The Proud Breed by Celeste De Blasis. She also faithfully read the newspaper and subscribed to several cooking magazines. Janet enjoyed cooking for friends and family and was known to send out recipes she found. However, she was particularly territorial over her famous waffle cookie recipe!

Janet died on Friday, December 10, 2021, at Auburn Home in Waconia, MN. She was 87 years old. Janet was preceded in death by her parents, her two sisters Jaqueline and Joyce, and two sons, David (Kate) Baldwin and Michael “Mickey” Baldwin.

Those left to honor Janet’s memory include her brother Harry “Skip” (Jodi) Gibson, the 3rd, her daughters Kathi Gochal, Julie (Craig) Warner, and Karan Rhone; her grandchildren Ami (David) Kercheval, Rustin (Kyla) Rhone, and Lorrin (Craig) Johnson, and 7 great-grandchildren.

In place of flowers, the family asks for you to donate to the Autism Society of America in her honor and for her great-granddaughter, Kaylee who lives with autism. The Autism Society of America is a not-for-profit organization that helps support autism education, advocacy, awareness, research, and assistance for families living with autism.

Information about the memorial service and burial will follow later this spring and will be held in Colfax, IA.