A MOTHER-OF-TWO killed in a car crash near her home has been described as having “natural vivacity that will be missed”.
Janet Undery, 49, of Thame Road, Great Milton, died when her Toyota Celica and a Toyota truck collided at the junction of Church Road and the A329 in the village on October 21.
Her husband David Undery, 64, paid tribute to the former college nurse at Christ Church in Oxford.
He said: “Jan will be remembered by many for her outstanding musical talents, equally at home with the classics, sacred music, musicals or folk music.
“However, to her family and friends it will be her loving nature and natural vivacity that will be missed.
“Jan was also a talented artist as well as a musician but will always be remembered as a lively and animated person who was never less than immaculate in her performances, appearance and looks.”
Mrs Undery, who started singing aged eight, grew up in Aston Rowant and dreamt of being a performer or a nurse.
She developed her love and talent for singing and art while studying at Lord Williams’s School, in Thame, where she was a frequent performer in school productions.
After completing her A-Levels, she studied at Trent Park College, in North London, qualifying with a Diploma in Higher Education.
When she returned to Oxfordshire she enrolled as a student nurse at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, in Buckinghamshire.
During this time she met her future husband, David Undery, who was a widower with two young children. They married in 1984.
The family moved to Hampshire and then on to Devon.
But Mrs Undery continued with her love of music and performed in many charity concerts — including a week at the Kings Theatre in Southsea.
The couple had two children – Tom, 19, who works in London, and Sarah, 17, a student at Lord Williams’s School.
When the family moved back to Oxfordshire in 1993, Mr Undery’s son Mark died from meningitis.
Mrs Undery later gained a BA (Hons) in Practice Nursing and became the practice nurse at Kennington before joining Christ Church as the college nurse.
She sang with St Mary’s Church in Thame and at a number of concerts in Great Milton and at Keble College, Oxford.
Mrs Undery also leaves four brothers, Richard, Malcolm, Robert and Philip, stepson Paul and his wife Lotta and their children Lillian and Amelia.
Her funeral will take place at St Mary’s Church, in Thame, at noon on Friday, November 6.
Donations will be split between Meningitis UK and Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance.
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