Obituary of Janie Gonsalves

On Tuesday, April 8, Janie Smith Gonsalves of Carver, Massachusetts, passed away, at the age of 102, at Tobey Memorial Hospital in Wareham, Massachusetts. . Janie never appeared in a history book, but her life story is extraordinary—not only for the grace and loving care with which she lived but also because her life epitomizes the strength, hard work, resilience, and hope of an entire generation of Americans. Janie was born February 9, 1912, near Bamberg, South Carolina, the oldest of ten children born to Frank Smith and Rebecca Carter Smith. She is the granddaughter of slaves and the daughter of sharecroppers. She grew up in a cabin with no running water or electricity. From an early age she worked long hours with her parents in the tobacco and cotton fields. She attended primary school for a few years when she was not needed in the fields, but sometimes attending school was not possible because of attacks on her and her siblings by white children who would loose their dogs on them as they walked to school. In 1936, when she was 24, Janie moved to Columbia, South Carolina, to cook, clean, and nanny. In 1950 Janie moved to Washington, D.C.—part of the great migration of African Americans northward from the South —where she started working for Frederick and Henrietta Brooke first as a maid and then as a cook at their winter home in D.C. and their summer home in Nonquitt, Massachusetts. Janie was a tremendous cook—famous in many circles. Her local cookbook was (and is) very popular among those who knew her. A meal cooked by Janie was a meal to remember. Janie lived with the Brookes for 19 years, except for one year when she was married to Lee Everett, her first husband who died of cancer. Upon his death, Janie moved back with the Brookes. When they both died, Janie worked as the cook for their son Elliot Bates McKee and his wife Katharine McKee and then, upon her death, with his wife Tanja Rowell McKee, moving with them to Annapolis, Maryland, in the winters and to Nonquitt, Massachusetts, in the summers from 1969-1991. One summer Janie met James Gonsalves, a retired highway worker turned strawberry and vegetable farmer. They married and Janie moved to Carver, Massachusetts. James died in 2002 but with tremendous support from the Gonsalves family, Janie was able to continue living on her own, tending her garden into her 100th year. In addition to all the vegetables and flowers, Janie also grew peanuts—her friends and family would tease her that she was the only peanut farmer in Massachusetts! Janie was a woman of deep faith, and for more than 30 years was an active member of the Carver United Parish church community. Janie also loved the Boston Red Sox. She grew up playing baseball with her siblings with sticks and rocks in the fields of South Carolina, and when she came to Massachusetts in the summers she adopted the Red Sox as her team. In 2004 on Mother’s Day, Janie was invited to visit the Red Sox dugout before the game. That was the year the Red Sox won the World Series for the first time since 1918, breaking “The Curse.” Friends and family think that Janie’s visit brought good luck to the team. On the occasion of her 100th birthday, President Obama and Michelle Obama recognized Janie, sending her a hand-signed letter. Their words to her are part of a fitting tribute to her: “You are part of an extraordinary generation that experienced great trials and triumphs in the life of our Nation and that has helped steer the course of our history. Your story is an important thread in the fabric of America.” Janie will be remembered by her friends and family for the generosity, care, and love she showed to all. Even the day before she died, when someone came to visit her, her first words were always, “How are you? How is your family?” She will be dearly missed by all who knew her, especially the members of the three families of which she was part: the Smiths, the Gonsalves, and the McKees. Janie is survived in the Smith family by a host of nieces and nephews and their children and grandchildren. In the Gonsalves family, she is survived by her stepson and daughter-in-law, George and Nancy Gonsalves, and by many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. And in the McKee family she is survived by two honorary sons, many honorary grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at Carver United Parish on 115 Main Street in Carver, Massachusetts on Thursday, April 9 (viewing at 10, service at 11). Janie will be buried in the Smith family plot in the Palmetto Cemetery in Columbia, South Carolina .