Janet (Jan) Linger Hershman

Janet (Jan) Linger Hershman The day that Janet (Jan) Linger Hershman lived for has arrived. She went to be with The Lover of her Soul on June 21, 2018. She graduated to heaven after 77 years of a life well lived. She is gone from us but embraced by God. Jan was born May 6, 1941 in Buckhannon, W.Va. She was the daughter of the late G.W. Linger and Melva Cutright Linger. She was united in marriage June 27, 1965 to Jerry Hershman who survives. Surviving is a son, Wesley (Meghan) of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio; daughter, Sarah Sell of Atlanta, Georgia; and granddaughters, Brooklyn and Falyn; sisters, Betty Gainer of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Donna (Jonathan) Wilson of Winchester, Virginia; sister in law, Brenda Linger of Philippi, W.Va.; and several nieces and nephews and many friends whom she loved and cherished very much. Brother, Bob Linger and brother in law, Bill Gainer are deceased. Jan attended schools in Barbour County, W.Va. She was a graduate of Philippi High School and Alderson Broaddus College. She taught at Campbell School, a one room school in Volga, W.Va. She was a first grade teacher in schools in Akron, Ohio, San Jose, California and Chapel Hill Christian School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. She was nominated for teacher of the year for three different years. She was a member of the Chapel in Akron. She served with the Ladies Auxiliary at the Haven of Rest in Akron where she served on the Ways and Means Committee. She was selected as Outstanding Christian Woman of the year in 2010. Jan’s heart was to serve others. Jan enjoyed reading, traveling, gardening, cooking and baking and was known for her famous peanut butter fudge. Her biggest delight was her husband, her kids, family and friends. Her greatest love was for her Lord Jesus. She served him faithfully and joyfully and now enjoys Him in His presence. She faced death with courage and lived the time she had left with more love in her heart. She wasn’t afraid to die but she was sad to leave all of you. She lived with grace, died with dignity and now she is healed. Rejoice in a life well lived, in a heart that overflowed with love and in a spirit that is now at peace. At Jan’s request there will be no calling hours. Her body will be laid to rest at Mount Vernon Memorial Cemetery in Philippi, W.Va. She is now at rest in the mountains that she loved. She is laid to rest near her Mom and Dad whom she loved dearly and generations of her family who helped make her the woman she came to be. If you would like to make a remembrance, please make them to the Haven of Rest at 175 E. Market Street, Akron, Ohio, 44308 or to the Hershman Family Scholarship at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy at 4687 Wyoga Lake Road, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio 44224. Jan would tell you… If tomorrow comes without me Do not waste a tear for me Just go out and find one hurting And then hold them tenderly If tomorrow comes without me Do not waste time feeling grief Just reach out to someone troubled And then help them find relief. If the sun rises tomorrow And you find I’m not here Take the time to find one lonely And to bring them Christian cheer If the sun comes out tomorrow And its glow, I cannot see Reach your hand out to another You’ll be reaching out to me. Just take time to care for others That’s what life is all about And if I’m not here tomorrow And I cannot spread some love Would you simply do it for me I’ll be watching from above. Do not send me flowers Nor none of that other stuff Spend your money on another Who just never has enough If I never see tomorrow Do not shed a tear for me For I’ll be in heaven with Jesus And at last…I’ll be free… Jan felt that when you believe in Jesus, you gain a quality of life that is larger than death. Death becomes not the end of life, but the door into a larger life. People call our world “the land of the living”. Christians call it “the land of the dying”. We begin to die the moment we are born and our lives are an unrelenting move toward death. But those of us who believe in Jesus know that when death comes, we do not pass out of the land of the living but INTO the land of the living. We are not on our way to death. We are on our way to life. That’s what it means to be born again. That’s what it means to have eternal life. That’s what it means to believe in Jesus. This is a personal commitment each of you must make. Please be sure you have made this commitment so I will see you in heaven someday. Go shine and live for Jesus and rejoice with me…