Janis Stehlik-Barry died on April 5, 2026. She grew up in Brookfield and attended Hollywood School, Hauser Junior High and Riverside Brookfield High School (RBHS) before enrolling at UIC where she earned her BA in Anthropology. Janis did graduate work in anthropology at UIC and the University of Chicago, where she met her husband, Ken. She continued to value and pursue education throughout her life, recently earning a certificate in museum curation from the University of Chicago.
After her parents, Alois (who went by Louis) and Marion Stehlik (née Wesley), died, she returned to her Hollywood home, where she and Ken raised three daughters: Cassiopeia, Leila and Thea. They followed the same educational path as their mother from Hollywood School through RBHS. Last August, she was happy to see her oldest grandchild, Orion, continue the tradition by starting Hollywood School.
An anthropologist, editor, teacher, librarian and advocate, Jan had a career that included work at the Institute for Juvenile Research and the American Bar Foundation, Triton College, Brookfield Zoo and the Brookfield Public Library. She cared deeply about human and animal rights and social and environmental justice. She loved volunteering to bring art, dance and theater to our schools and community.
She maintained a membership at the Art Institute of Chicago, where her mother and great-grandfather had been students. Jan always made time to visit museums large and small in Amsterdam, Athens, Boston, Honolulu, Mexico City, New Orleans, New York, Paris, Prague, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Vienna, Washington, D.C. and many other locations.
She was conscientious, gracious, patient and humorous. She loved to look at beautiful trees, birds, squirrels and deer. Janis would decorate for the holidays, savor sunsets, laugh, identify a plant or tree, sing, joke, dance in the kitchen and tell her children about their ancestors.
Perhaps you can savor some little thing that brings you and your loved ones joy after you read this.
Jan is survived by her husband, Ken; her daughters, Cassiopeia (Charles Stehlikbarry-Gjondla), Leila (Corey Williams), and Thea (Brandon Gonia); her grandsons, Orion, Apollo and Atlas (all Stehlikbarry-Gjondlas); and her granddaughter, Kara Gonia.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to groups whose missions reflect Jan’s commitment to promoting human and animal rights: the ASPCA, Cat Nap from the Heart, Save the Children and UNICEF.