Janet Marie Mathews
         née Hennessy
October 6, 1931 – June 20, 2026
 
South Yarmouth – Janet Marie Mathews passed away on June 20, 2026 at the age of 94, after seven months of fighting cancer with every bit of the feisty determination her family had become accustomed to all their lives. She held on fiercely and on her own terms, right to the very end. She was the wife of the late Donald R. Mathews – State Trooper, best friend, and partner of more than 60 years – and the mother of four kids she adored and devoted herself to completely.
 
Janet was born in Springfield, MA and grew up in Bridgewater, the only girl among four children of Lauretta Chassey Hennessy and Frank J. Hennessy, alongside brothers Francis "Frank," Richard "Dick," and John "Jackie." She graduated from Mount Ida College in Boston in the early 1950s with a degree in business administration, and then – because why not – she became a flight attendant for Pan American World Airways and Eastern Airlines. This was commercial aviation in its wild early days, long before commercial jet engines, weather radar, or any of the safety comforts that would come later, and Janet flew through all of it with great poise. She was so striking that she and her best friend Mary Wadden were chosen to appear on a Pan Am promotional postcard. She and Mary traveled the country together in those years, and Mary remained one of her best friends for life – the sister she never had growing up.
 
She married her beloved husband Donald Mathews and in 1964 the two of them planted deep roots in the Cape Cod sand — roots that held for the rest of their lives. Back then, troopers pulled overnight shifts at the barracks, which meant Janet spent plenty of nights alone in the house with four kids. She handled this the way she handled most things – with a mother's ferocity and instincts. She kept a police nightstick on the nightstand, just in case. The kids knew better than to wander into her room after dark. Nobody wanted to be mistaken for a burglar.  The young family became beach bums in the summer and spent many long days all together on the beaches of Dennis and Yarmouth.  Don and Janet were “regulars” at Smugglers Beach well into their 70’s.
 
As a young Mom, Janet co-hosted a neighborhood preschool in their modest but always warm and welcoming Cape-style home, and she opened her doors to the local Cub Scout troop as well. Morning, noon and night Janet’s kids and their friends were always well fed in her kitchen.  There was usually an extra neighborhood mouth or two at the breakfast, lunch and dinner table at chez Janet.  Along the way she collected the kind of friendships that last a lifetime. Her sisters-in-law Ruth, Marie and Viv – wives of brothers Francis, Richard and Jack – became her adopted sisters, and the whole crew spent countless days and nights together on the Cape. She shared the oft unspoken connection and hidden anxiety that only the spouses of police officers, first responders and soldiers understand, with several of the State Police wives (especially great friend Mary Walsh). Her dear neighborhood friends Nancy Hollingsworth and Terry Deluga became sisters of a different kind: the ones you earn through shared experiences raising kids side by side and often happily in the shadows of hardworking and headstrong husbands. Nancy, Terry, and Mary Wadden were the sisterhood Janet built for herself, and she cherished every one of them.  Together, they laughed like children and cried the tears only mothers understand. 
 
Janet was a hockey mom before there was a term for it – in the rink early, in the cold, cheering loudly. She showed up for everything: as the grandkids came along she became a hockey, theater, gymnastics, track and soccer grammy, still braving the early a.m. ice times, the damp fall sidelines, and the crowded plays and recitals like it was her job. She was in the stands and audiences well into her 80s. The kids could count on her loud and cheerful fandom.  She gushed with obvious pride (and great amusement) when she was around her grandkids and great grandkids.  When the Mathews' Lambert Road nest had emptied back in the late 80’s, and Janet’s mom had passed, Janet found new purpose volunteering at Cape Cod Hospital.  Some of the long-time staff still remembered her work ethic, smile and kind nature as a volunteer decades later when she was a patient there for cancer treatment. 
 
When Don passed away in September 2021, the family worried. Grief and loneliness can be hard on a person, and harder still at 89. But Janet, true to form, had other plans. She moved to Thirwood Place in South Yarmouth and proceeded to flourish. She became more engaged – socially, physically, in every way – than she had been in the years that Don was stricken with cancer. She made a whole new circle of close friends, including, her first friend at Thirwood, Carol (also a former flight attendant in 50’s) as well as Barbara, Rosie, Joan, Ginnie, and several others who became her Thirwood family. Her final years were, genuinely, good ones. She made sure of that.
 
Janet is survived by her daughters Mary Susan “Susie” Passaro of Winthrop and Jill Hedin and her husband David of South Yarmouth; her sons Timothy Mathews and his wife Jennifer of Mattapoisett and Michael Mathews and his wife Suzanne of Leominster; her grandchildren Timothy Ryan Mathews and his wife Corrinne and their daughter Hallie, Zachary Mathews, Shane Mathews, Casey Prendergast and her husband David and their children Matthew and newborn Nora, Nicholas Passaro and his partner Katie Rooney, Daniel Passaro and his partner Gina Angelli and their twins Dominic and Donato, Nicole Caron and her husband Douglas and their son Charlie, and Jessie Mathews; and many beloved nieces and nephews on both the Hennessy and Mathews sides. She was predeceased by her parents, husband Donald R. Mathews, her son-in-law Dominic Passaro, and her brothers Jackie, Richard and Francis Hennessy.
 
Her daughter Jill deserves a special word. After Don's passing, Jill stepped up as chief caregiver of her nonagenarian Mom – tireless, devoted, and selfless. Her presence made an enormous difference in her mother's final years (as well as the preceding years), and her brothers and sister are forever grateful.  The family would also like to recognize VNA Hospice of Cape Cod and in particular nurse Cindy Mancini for her incredible compassion, skill, and genuine kindness in helping care for our Mom (and Dad).  She was truly a God sent gift to Mom, Dad, and our family.
 
Arrangements are in the care of Hallett Funeral Home. Viewing and a memorial service will be held there from 9:30-10:30 a.m. on Thursday June 25, 2026.  A Funeral Mass will follow at St. Pius X Church, Station Avenue, South Yarmouth at 11:00 a.m. same day.  Interment will follow at Chandler Gray Cemetery in West Yarmouth, where she will rest beside her Don.  In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) of Cape Cod Hospice @ https://vnacare.org/donors.
 
 
 
She was a truly wonderful wife and mother; a trusted and loyal daughter, sister, and friend; a beautiful woman both inside and out who lived a beautiful life: She fought like a champ to keep living it. She will be missed every single day.  The reunion in heaven was sure to be a raucous and glorious event as Don and her brothers and “sisters” welcomed her home to The Lord’s Heavenly Kingdom.

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