April 18, 1934 - December 29, 2017

Long-time Downey resident Janet Molinaro passed away on December 29, 2017 at the age of 83.

Born Janet Mae McCurdy on April 18, 1934, Jan, as she was known to family and friends, graduated from Downey High School in 1951 and later attended UCLA. While working for her family’s company, McCurdy & Son, Inc., Jan would meet and fall in love with Southern California businessman Louis Molinaro. They were married in 1959 and later bought a home on Julius Avenue, where they raised their daughter Dina and son Richard.

Jan was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt and sister, and she will be remembered by her family and friends for her passion, humor and joy of life. Jan developed a love for sports while playing golf and tennis in her youth and she passed this love down to her children and grandchildren. She was a dedicated fan of UCLA athletics and all who knew her would agree that she was truly a “Bruin for life.”

A fixture in the Downey business community, Jan entered the real estate industry in 1976 as an agent and later became a broker for Century 21 CB Real Estate, which she owned until her retirement in 2013. She was an active member of the Downey Association of Realtors, which honored her as Broker of the Year as recently as 2011, and a volunteer for the National Kidney Foundation.

Upon the passing of her husband Lou in 2013, Jan retired and spent her last years visiting her great-grandchildren, taking weekend trips to Las Vegas and listening to albums from her favorite musician, Frank Sinatra.

She is survived by her children Dina Kennedy and Richard Molinaro, son-in-law Brian Kennedy, daughter-in-law Janet Hare Molinaro, seven grandchildren: Travis, Nicole, Nicholas, Melanie, Julia, Owen and Carrie, and two great-grandchildren: Elizabeth and Alexander. She is also survived by her sister Charlotte Widling.

Her life will be celebrated by family and friends in Arcadia on March 10.