Chesterfield, MA – Janice L. Gibeau died at home in Chesterfield, MA, on April 18, 2026, following a long illness. Jan, as she was known to a wide circle of friends and co-workers, was born and grew up in Penacook, NH, and she went on to earn her RN degree at the Mary Hitchcock Memorial School of Nursing in Dartmouth New Hampshire, her BA in sociology at the University of New Hampshire, and her PhD in Social Welfare Policy and Research at Brandeis University’s Heller School. Her research there was on working caregivers, women who both worked full-time and cared for an aging parent or parents at home.
Jan’s passion was caring for older adults, a calling which began for her at age 15, when she worked as an aide at a local nursing home. She also specialized in mental health care, serving in multiple nursing roles at local county and state psychiatric hospitals. Jan began her professional nursing career at Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, DC., the largest psychiatric hospital in the nation, as director of two units serving older adults. Her career in teaching also began at St. Elizabeth’s, where she helped to educate and train paraprofessionals. She later went on to develop and direct two units serving older adults at McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA.
At various times Jan worked in psychiatric hospitals, community mental health centers, and home care agencies. Later in her career she worked as a healthcare executive at the Franklin County Medical Center in Greenfield, MA, and psychiatric hospitals like the Charles River Hospital in Chicopee, MA. Jan’s most recent and most gratifying job was Director of Chesterfield’s Council on Aging, where she wrote a popular regular newsletter and initiated and helped oversee a variety of programs and essential services for elderly members of the community. Because of her boundless energy, Lindsay Sabadosa once described her as a force of nature.
Jan was a “people person” who cherished the many relationships she developed through the Council on Aging and other volunteer work. She was curious about anyone’s life story and enjoyed forming meaningful connections wherever she went. Since she grew up in a rural small town, Jan loved life in Chesterfield. For many years she was involved in active service to the town on a variety of Boards and Committees, including school committees, the finance committee, and the Board of Health, one year receiving the town’s Volunteer of the Year Award.
Jan was widely sought after as a lecturer and trainer and was a charismatic public speaker. She taught part-time at the University of New Hampshire School of Nursing, the Massachusetts University School of Nursing, the Smith College School for Social Work and elsewhere.
Jan loved the ocean and especially the family house on an island in Maine. There she loved fishing and time spent in small motor boats as well as gathering clams, mussels, mushrooms and wild berries. Over the years she developed deep friendships with many fellow islanders. Time spent there was a tonic for body and soul.
Personally, Jan was known for her warm smile, her boundless energy, sense of humor, and her kindness. She could laugh at the absurdities of modern life as well as at herself. She greeted the world with optimism, a twinkle in her eye, and a commitment to helping others above all.
Jan is survived by her spouse and longtime partner Jeane W. Anastas of Chesterfield; children Jonathan Anastas, Benjamin Anastas and Rhea Anastas; and her five grandchildren: Isaac Anastas, Esther Anastas Simpson, Cameron Anastas, and Theo and Alexander Fabricius. She was known to her grandchildren as Mémé, in honor of her French-Canadian background. In lieu of flowers, Jan would prefer that donations be made to the Western Massachusetts Food Bank, Chesterfield’s Council on Aging, or the Cooley Dickinson VNA and Hospice Program.
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