Janet Serino

Janet Serino was born on February 24, 1935. She was not given a middle name when she was born. She was born in Custer (right next door to the home she currently lives in). She did not attend kindergarten, although she did attend 1st grade through 12th grade in Custer.

Fourth grade was Janet’s favorite year of school indeed. There were three reasons she loved being a fourth grader: Janet became a part of the Custer High School Band as a fourth grader! She tried out to play the trombone, but found out her arm simply was not long enough to operate the slide on the trombone, so she became a drummer. 4th grade was also the year her grandpa took her to New York and she learned how to write in cursive.

Janet played marbles after school. She recalled one time losing her “steely” in a match. She was determined to get her best marble back so she played and played until she heard her father calling her home. She was so determined and she was late getting home!

Janet feels the most important thing in life is having family. Janet has one sister, Patty, and she knew she always had a friend in her. There were many hours spent in the summer at Grandma Gates’ cabin with her sister during the summer months. Grandma Gates (GG) taught her how to live a good life and considered by Janet to be the most influential person in her life. GG had no electricity so Janet spent many hours outside learning about berries, trees and nature. GG had a whistle she would blow when it was time to return to the cabin, so Janet knew never to go out of the range of the whistle.

Janet had always dreamed of being an actress. She practiced many times on the Black Hills Playhouse stage. Her parents owned the theatre, which is now Pizza Works- downtown Custer. Janet realized acting might not be her strength so she turned to plan B. Janet attended college at University of South Dakota. When she finished college, she moved to places such as Wyoming, Colorado, California and Arizona. Custer, however was and still is home! Janet has been married for 58 years and has two daughters. Deneyse lives in Arizona and Mary Lou lives in Alaska. She also has six grandchildren.

Janet loves to learn and earned a Master’s degree at the age of 50. She encourages young people to decide what you want and give it your all! Don’t become discouraged. You have to work at things and practice what you really want.

When asked what her greatest accomplishment was, we were told, “staying alive!” Janet is an adventurous individual. When Janet was 55, she took a river rafting trip down the Grand Canyon with her sister. They were heavily warned about an area referred to as “Satin’s Gut”. As things go, once again, Janet would have to come up with plan B, (in a hurry) when the raft headed directly toward the treacherous water. She quickly decided she wasn’t going to die sitting up, so she laid down in the raft. Because of her quick thinking and willingness to go with the flow, we are able to hear the story today!

For many years, she had a dream of going to Nepal. She did not become discouraged and kept working toward reaching the dream. At the age of 65, she reached that dream! Not only did she travel to Nepal, but also she trekked across the country for an entire month!

Janet really loves being outdoors. This is evident throughout her life. She enjoys fishing, skiing, hiking, rafting, gardening and canning. She enjoys quilting as well, but reserves that for winter days when the weather is not cooperative.

We enjoyed having the opportunity to have Janet join us in our 4th grade class this year as our Elder. She is gracious, kind, and inspiring. Thank you Janet for sharing your life with us. It has truly been our honor!