Jane M. Grilliot was born in Hartford, Connecticut to Ted and Eileen Plodzik. She was raised in Hartford, graduating from high school in 1967. She was the daughter of a county sheriff and a very good student with strong principles. Although always polite and highly respectful of the law, she participated in peaceful anti-war demonstrations after watching many of her classmates being drafted and then dying in Vietnam. Jane also firmly believed in "giving back" by becoming a candy striper volunteer and assisting the nursing staff with patients at local hospitals.

Jane attended Bathpath College in Longmeadow, MA and earned an Associate of Arts degree in Liberal Arts. Because of her French speaking skills, intelligence and kind demeanor (not to mention her good looks) she applied for and was accepted by Pan American Airlines to be a flight attendant for the France route and other international flights. These plans however changed as Jane met a young banker and was married in the early 70s. Her beloved daughter, Ariana, was born in 1975. While in Connecticut, Jane worked as an executive assistant for an international beverage company.

Jane and her husband left Connecticut and traveled to Santa Clara County in Northern California to advance his banking career. That marriage however, ended in divorce and with Jane and Ari staying in Cupertino, CA. Jane worked as an executive assistant for a leading Electronics company in Cupertino, CA.

Jane remarried an executive of a metallurgical lab in 1984, but that marriage was cut short when cancer ended his life and Jane found herself in the executive leadership role of the company. The company eventually closed and Jane and Ari moved to Mission Viejo, CA in 1985. Although working part-time as an office manager for an insulation and valve distributor, Jane focused her attention on raising her daughter.

Jane met Jim Grilliot in October 1988, and they were married on June 30, 1989 at St. Luke's Orthodox church in Garden

Grove, CA. Jim worked as a

subcontract administrator, procurement agent for a leading defense contractor while Jane dedicated herself to her husband, daughter and home. Jim and Jane regularly attended St. Kilian Catholic Church in Mission Viejo, CA.

In late 2011, Jim accepted a job transfer to Boeing Everett as a procurement agent/contracts focal. In January of 2012, Jane and Jim moved to Washington, eventually settling in Clinton. She was a member of St. Hubert Catholic Church of Langley, WA. In California, Jane was the Treasurer of the Saddleback Rose Society, the Secretary of the Palmia Veteran's Club and a strong supporter of the Wounded Warrior's Project at Camp Pendleton, CA.

Jane was a very intelligent woman, with a wealth of knowledge. She was unbeatable in a game of Trivial Pursuit and loved playing cards, Michigan Rummy and Rummikub. She loved to read, loved animals, and was very much against killing animals for sport or for hides. Jane never complained about her health issues and had a way of making everyone around her feel good. She was an excellent cook, party planner, entertainer and loved tending to the 120 varieties of roses in her spectacular rose garden.

Jane is survived by her husband, Jim of Clinton; one daughter, Ariana Garcia and her husband, Stacy of Costa Mesa, CA; and one sister, Patti Ortiz of Banning, CA.

She was preceded in death by her parents and one brother, Kenneth Plodzik.

Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Hubert Catholic Church on Wednesday, August 14, 2013 at 10:30 a.m. with Rev. Rick Spicer, Celebrant. Visitation and viewing will be held at the church beginning at 9:30 a.m. Rites of Interment will follow at Sunnyside Cemetery, Coupeville. A reception will follow at the family home.

Memorials may be made to Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas 66675. Friends and family are encouraged to share memories and condolences at the Book of Memories hosted at www.wallinfuneralhome.com. Arrangements entrusted to Wallin Funeral Home and Cremation, LLC., Oak Harbor, WA.


The Daily Herald Co., Everett, Wash.