Janette (Jan) Martin Deihl, 87, of State College, PA, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, June 22, 2025.
Born May 27, 1938 in Goshen IN and raised in Elkhart IN, she was the daughter of the Clifford and Erma (Schertz) Martin. On July 2, 1961, Jan married Ned Charles Deihl, her husband of 64 years, and they proudly raised three great kids. Jan is survived by her husband Ned; her children, Randy Deihl and his wife Jan of Doylestown PA, Laura Deihl of Bristol RI, and Mark Deihl and his wife Cindy of Cincinnati OH; grandchildren, Danielle, Derek, Max, Alex and Ben; her brother Bob Martin and his wife Gail; and many cousins.
Jan received her Bachelor of Arts in English from Goshen College and Master of Arts in English from the University of Pennsylvania. Following graduation, she pursued a career teaching English literature and writing at State College High School and Penn State. Jan supported Ned’s long music career and was a musician herself playing piano and violin from childhood and throughout her life. She was an accomplished violinist who performed with the Nittany Valley Symphony (NVS) and Altoona Symphony Orchestra (ASO) for decades. She was a founding member of NVS and played in concerts her final year (using her rollator walker to get on the stage—”true grit” Ned said).
Jan was imaginative, creative, and artistic. She became a seamstress in her teens and sewed many of her own fashionable 1950’s style dresses. As a child, Jan drew blueprints of houses for fun. In later years, she designed and helped to build, hands on, the family’s grand home in Centre Hills. Planning the landscape and tending the gardens gave her great pleasure.
Her kids remember her as a devoted mother and resourceful homemaker. As a young mother, she encouraged her kids to take art and music classes, staged backyard carnivals with games and face painting, and supported countless swimming lessons and swim team practices at Science Park Recreation Association (SPRA) and Bellefonte YMCA pools. Jan engaged in all sorts of creative projects from cooking to woodworking, and she took pride in her children and grandchildren’s accomplishments.
Jan was a talented writer and editor. She enjoyed writing family memoirs and professionally edited many papers and dissertations. In her senior years, she participated in adult education classes as student and teacher. Jan was always in a book club and would quickly consume books to the family’s amazement. Jan and Ned were sixty-year members of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in State College, and Jan maintained connection with her family’s Mennonite community in Indiana and Illinois.
There will be a private service for the family at the graveside. Memorial contributions can be made to Nittany Valley Symphony (nvs.org), and Nittany Performing Arts Centre (nittanypac.org), and Goshen College (Goshen.edu/give).
Arrangements are under the care of Koch Funeral Home in State College PA. Online condolences may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com or the Koch Funeral Home Facebook page.