Janet Houlton

Janet Irene Houlton (Sawyer), age 70 of Stillwater, formerly of Shorewood, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on October 20, 2026, at the Lakeview Hospital from complications of ALS.

Janet was born June 14, 1956, in St. Paul to Charles “Chuck” and Carol (Honebrink) Sawyer. She attended Nativity Parish and school as a young girl and Our Lady of Peace High School in St. Paul.

After high school, Janet found her passion for fashion and design, eventually working her way up to a senior clothing buyer for Target, a role that found her traveling to East Asia on many occasions; years later, she would proudly boast of her ability to out-negotiate her male counterparts from Singapore and Thailand. While at Target, she founded Target's in-house children’s clothing line, a brand that exists to this day.

Janet’s long and difficult health journey began in the early 1990s with a diagnosis of Behçet's, a rare inflammatory disorder, that forced her to leave the corporate world and put her on permanent disability. The frequent health complications and occasional trips to the hospital did not stop her from remaining a driven, and albeit at times stubborn, person. No doubt she inherited this trait from her mother, confidant, and best friend, Carol.

Janet’s post-Target days were filled with raising two young boys, Patrick and Jack, and taking all seven children on camping excursions to Fall Lake, Ely, the Rocky Mountains, and beyond. When not taking her children to the beach or lake to fish, Janet could be found tending to her garden, quilting, or volunteering at church. Because of her great love for the Blessed Mother, Janet was drawn to Carmelite spiritually and became a Third Order Lay Carmelite.

After 9/11 and the beginning of the war in Iraq, Janet met Fr. John Echert, a National Guard Chaplain, and together, they began a ministry called Sandbox Beads, which sent spiritual care packages to service members overseas at no charge. The basement of her Shorewood home soon became filled with boxes and boxes of pocket Bibles, hand-tied rosaries made by Catholic school children, prayer cards, and handwritten notes of encouragement from countless individuals, including nursing home residents. This ministry became a springboard for the eventual St. Paul-Minneapolis Archdiocese children’s Rosary procession, which Janet began and coordinated for 19 years. As was stated earlier, she never stopped being a determined (stubborn?) woman.

In the spring of 2022, Janet was diagnosed with stage 2 pancreatic cancer, which eventually developed into stage 4 and spread to her liver. After many tough months of cancer treatment, extensive prayer, a minor miracle, and that classic Janet stubbornness, her cancer went into remission. Her husband Pat was by her side the entire time.

In July of 2025, Janet was diagnosed with ALS, thus beginning another battle. Despite the slow deterioration of her body, Janet remained in good spirits with a hopeful disposition to the end. When she could no longer walk, she loved to simply sit outside in her wheelchair and look at her garden, as it made her “feel normal again.”

She celebrated her 70th birthday party this past June surrounded by family and friends, and her 40th wedding anniversary in September. Once again, her husband Pat remained by her side during her battle with ALS.

And once again, true to form, he spent every night at the hospital with her until her passing–a promise he made to her when she first entered the ER for the last time. Janet's final few days were well spent with family and friends: final phone calls, final Rosaries and prayers, final “I love yous,” final board games with a granddaughter...even in her final moments, Janet gave back to those she loved. And though she could no longer speak, her bright blue eyes spoke with a piercing vibrancy that shall not be forgotten.

Janet had a long and at times difficult journey through life, but she never quit running, and she finished the race well.

Janet will remain in the hearts of her husband of 40 years, Pat, her children Nate (Peggy), Ben (Amanda), Seth (Valan), Megan (Bill), Colleen, Patrick (Kellyn), and Jack (Katie), and her 24 grandchildren. Also in remembrance are her brothers Chuck (Kathy) Sawyer, Steve (Phyllis) Sawyer, Jim Sawyer, and Gregg Sawyer, and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Chuck and Carol Sawyer, and siblings at birth: Mary Catherine and John Paul Jude.

Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11:00 AM on Thursday, October 29, 2026, at the Church of St. Michael: 611 3rd St S, Stillwater, MN.

Rosary at 3:30 PM, followed by Visitation from 4:00-6:00 PM on Wednesday, October 28, at the Simonet Funeral Home, 6429 Osgood Ave N, Stillwater, and one hour prior to the Mass at the church on Thursday.

Interment at St. Michael’s Cemetery, Bayport.

Janet's Funeral Mass will be livestreamed and recorded for future viewing through the Churches of St. Michael & St. Mary YouTube page.

Memorials preferred to the ALS Association and ProLife Across America.