Dear FAR-West community,
It is with deep sadness that I share the unexpected passing of our past President, and longtime board member, Janet Dukes.
Many of you may remember Janet at the registration desk during the first days of each conference. And she was one of the last people to say goodbye as you pre-registered for the following year on Sunday. She became involved in FAR-West in 2005. Prior to joining the FAR-West Board, she assisted Cindy Bottomley with conference registration. She began serving on the FAR-West board in 2013 as registrar, was FAR-West Secretary from 2014-17, co-coordinated the 2017 conference in Bellevue, WA and was FAR-West Board President in 2018 and 2019.
In addition to her dedication to FAR-West, Janet helped promote Garage-Ma-Hall musical gatherings in Las Vegas for many years. Prior to that she was an elementary school teacher in the Clark County school district. She was also an usher for the minor league baseball team in Las Vegas – loving the baseball and the patrons and friends she got to know so well.
FAR-West was beloved to Janet. She adored the many artists and kindred spirits she met through our organization.
The FAR-West board is scheduling a meeting to discuss a memorial fund in Janet’s name. We will let everybody know what that is as soon as it is determined.
Carey Appel
President, FAR-West
Sad news indeed… my sincere condolences to all Janet’s family & friends
Best Regards,
Sid
Janet Dukes made me smile every time I saw her. Her love and warmth will be sadly missed.
I am so sorry to hear this sad and unexpected news. I was president of Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA), while Janet led FAR-West. I so enjoyed chatting with her at regional leaders meetings and conferences. She was such a nice person and a champion of our community. Janet will be sorely missed.
Oh no! Janet was wonderful! A most dedicated and helpful member of our community. Irreplaceable.
Really surprised by this news. Janet was so nice and worked so hard for the community and FarWest. I will miss her.
Such a sad loss. Literally everyone who knew Janet loved her…me too.
This is a lot to take in. One of the highlights of every year was hanging out with Janet at the conference. What a brilliant ambassador she was for FAR-West and what a joy she was to be in the same room with. Thank you, Carey and the board, for whatever you can figure out that allows us to keep her alive in our memories, like we have Susanne Millsaps.
I actually just saw this news. So sad. Janet always had a ready smile and we had many great conversations.