Janet Louise Cairns

Janet Louise Cairns age 59, of Olathe, Kansas passed away May 14, 2020, at Olathe Medical Center from septic shock and pneumonia after a valiant fight against metastatic melanoma. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place at St. Paul Catholic Church in Olathe, Kansas, on May 20, 2020, at 2pm.

Janet was born April 19, 1961, in Salina, Kansas, the daughter of Lyle J. and Mary Louise Giersch. Janet was united in marriage to Mark A. Cairns on April 24, 1993, at St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, Lawrence, Kansas.

After graduating from Hayden High School Topeka, Kansas, in 1979, Janet graduated from Washburn University in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She went on to earn her Master of Science in Nursing in 2012 from The University of Kansas. Janet became a Certified Case Manager, a Certified Nurse Executive Advanced NEA-BC, and Certified in Informatics. She was a member of the American Nurses Association and Kansas State Nurses Association. After becoming a registered nurse, Janet worked at Stormont-Vail Hospital in Topeka, Kansas, Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Lawrence, Kansas, Lawrence General Surgery in Lawrence, Kansas, Douglas County Visiting Nurses Association in Lawrence, Kansas, Government Employees Health Association in Lee's Summit, Missouri, and lastly, Cerner Corporation in Kansas City, Missouri. Though she took great pride in working at all of these places, Janet was especially honored to work at Cerner on the Veterans Administration Project knowing she was going to help many veterans with her and her team's work.

Janet and Mark were long-time residents of Lawrence, Kansas, before moving to Olathe, Kansas, three years ago. They were most recently members of St. Paul Catholic Church in Olathe. She enjoyed running, cooking (never following a recipe), reading, watching movies, traveling especially in the Caribbean on a cruise ship to Aruba, visiting with friends and family, being a wife, and being a mother. She loved watching her Kansas Jayhawks play basketball and was a passionate fan of Nebraska Cornhusker football. Janet was elated to watch her Jayhawks win a national championship, the Kansas City Royals win the World Series, and the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl.
She was preceded in death by her parents.

Survivors include her husband, Mark A. Cairns, her daughters (boyfriends) Mary C. Cairns (Zach Slevin) and Grace A. Cairns (Elliott Woody), her brother and sister Ron Giersch and Lynn Bishop, her father and mother-in-law Hugh and Dianne Cairns, her brother and sister-in-law Barry and Lyric Cairns, her nieces and nephews Christopher Bishop, Jared Bishop, Audrey Giersch, Elisha Cairns, and Melissa (husband, Doug) DeWindt, her aunts Shirley Hoover, Pat Morley, and Sandy Giersch, many cousins and friends and colleagues.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Veterans Community Project, 8900 Troost Ave., Kansas City, Missouri 64131.

The family would like to thank Dr. Luke Huerter and the staff of Lawrence Oncology, and the Olathe Medical Center ICU especially nurse Gretchen Hess for their compassionate, loving care of Janet.
All attendees of the mass are required to wear a face mask and maintain social distancing.