Janet Anne McChesney Jetton (April 7, 1943 – March 13, 2026)
A strong and beautiful spirit has left us with the passing of Janet Anne McChesney Jetton, age 82, of Fayetteville, Tennessee. A devoted wife and mother, Janet went to her eternal home on March 13, 2026, surrounded by her husband and four children.
Janet was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania on April 7, 1943, to the late John Albert and Frances Anne Dubski McChesney. They spent lots of time outdoors and on the shores of Lake Erie, and Janet had a great love for family, for the countryside, and for animals of all kinds. The family moved to New Port Richey, Florida where Janet grew up with many Siamese cats. She later attended St. Petersburg Junior College and the University of Florida, earning a Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology. She enjoyed working with her mentors in the clinical pathology lab as they developed Gatorade and other technologies to help their patients and fellow students.
Janet then moved to Birmingham, Alabama to work at UAB Medical Center. There, a coworker thought she knew a good match for Janet. The coworker soon became her sister-in-law when Janet married James Luther Jetton on August 13th, 1967. They moved to Huntsville, Alabama to start their family, and in 1976, Janet realized her dream when they moved to Hotrock, Tennessee, where they could raise their children on a farm.
Janet loved the Hotrock community, and her Home Demonstration Club. She loved being a homesteader and raising nearly every kind of animal. She decided that dairy goats were the perfect partners for their steep hillside, and for her growing kids. Janet’s family was instrumental in founding the first 4-H Dairy Goat Show at the Lincoln County Fair, which exposes many people to the gifts of farm life today. She was a lifetime member of the American Dairy Goat Association and raised many champion milkers on her farm, which she named Balingary in honor of her Scotch-Irish roots.
Janet was a member of St. Raphael Catholic Parish in Fayetteville, and a founding member of St. Anthony Catholic Church. She served the catholic community in many ways as a parish council member, a catechist, and more. She helped create and publish the parish newsletter, The Window. She kept things fun for the youth of the parish, providing baby goats for the live Nativity float at the Christmas parade. She was a bright flame for the Catholic faith in our small, outpost church.
She is survived by her devoted husband Jim; their children Jeremy (Sharon) Jetton, Jennifer Hahs, John Jetton, and Julia (Michael) McCalip; and her beloved grandchildren, Theo Riney, Joseph Jetton, Kate Jetton, Silas Hahs, and Nathaniel McCalip.
A funeral mass will be celebrated at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Fayetteville. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Tennessee Farmers Cooperative Foundation at www.ourcoopfoundation.org/.
Service details and online condolences will be updated when available at the Higgins Funeral Home website at higginsfh.com. Higgins Funeral Home is proud to serve the Jetton family.