Jan Rutherdale, beloved to friends and family alike, died of heart failure on February 23, 2019. She has left us much too soon. Jan was born in 1956 in Los Altos, California, to Alice and Jack Rutherdale. Along with her twin brother, Jay, she was the youngest of five siblings. After graduating high school in three years, Jan went off to college at Oberlin (Ohio) and then law school at Hastings College of Law (San Francisco). She married her high school sweetheart, Jeff Bush, in 1978. In 1982, they moved to Juneau where Jan began a successful career as a public attorney, working as an Alaska Supreme Court clerk, Assistant Public Defender, and Assistant Attorney General. She spent most of her 30-year career as a tireless advocate for Alaska’s most vulnerable children. When she retired in 2013, she continued to serve children in neglected and abusive situations by working as a court-appointed CINA mediator. After retirement, Jan also served on several non-profit boards, including the Juneau Family Birth Center, Inian Islands Institute, and SEAL Trust.
Her daughters, Megan and Isabel, were the loves of her life. She encouraged them to be successful and live life to the fullest, and she was the ultimate role model – intelligent, effervescent, fearless, and kind. Her energy was boundless and contagious, and her interests were almost limitless. Her motto in life was “just say yes” to any opportunity or adventure, and she truly lived that – backpacking up ridges after dinner, skiing remote slopes and downtown sidewalks, kayaking all day and still making an evening concert. She loved to travel and saw much of the world. But mostly, she enjoyed spending time with her daughters, family, and friends.
Jan’s bright smile will be remembered by all who knew her. Jan is survived by her daughters Megan Moody (Justin) and Isabel Bush, sisters Nancy Griffith (Tom) and Martha de la Soujeole (Axel), brother Jay Rutherdale (Sydney), step-mother Anne Rutherdale (Karl), partner Fred Shields, and numerous nieces, nephews, and others.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent in her name to SEAL Trust, Inian Islands Institute, or the new JACC. A celebration of life will be held April 4th at Centennial Hall at 3pm. Published in The Juneau Empire from Feb. 28 to Mar. 28, 2019
