Janet P. Sennott

Janet P. Sennott, known to friends as Jan, passed away peacefully on Sunday, April 6, 2025. Her husband, Jay, passed away 5 weeks prior to Jan. She was a loving mother to Jen (Bill) Cram. Doting Grammie to Megan, Alex, and Zach.

Janet Grayce Pigman, was born in Washington D.C. on January 2, 1941. She was the first born to her parents, George Leroy Pigman and Josephine Virginia Wilkinson. Jan moved several times during her childhood until their final move to Oak Park, IL in 1950. Jan graduated from Oak Park-River Forest High School in 1958 and Bradley University in 1964. She married William “Jay” Sennott on July 7, 1972. Together, they raised their daughter, Jennifer, in Chicago.

Jan was an elementary school teacher for almost 10 years in Chicago -specializing in learning challenged and special needs students. Later, she earned her Real Estate license and sold real estate for over 25 years. She was an active member in many Chicago philanthropies, including President of the Boys & Girls Club Board of Chicago and President of the Children’s Hospital Board of Chicago. She was actively involved in both these charities for more than 15 years, along with many other local charities. Volunteering was a true passion for Jan and provided her great joy over many years.

Jan also enjoyed tennis, golf, traveling, reading, knitting, needlepoint, friends, family, and was an incredible cook. She loved to host dinner parties and share her love of food and cooking with friends and family as often as possible. As a grandmother, her favorite pastime was baking with her grandkids.

Jan lived in Scottsdale, Arizona for the last few years of her life. Jan and Jay enjoyed many years of visiting Arizona over their 50+ years of marriage and made it their home in 2023.

A memorial will be held for Jan (and Jay) on Saturday, May 3rd at 3pm at Whitney & Murphy Funeral Home, 4800 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix, AZ 85018. A reception will be immediately following. We will be having another celebration of life for Jan (and Jay) in Chicago, IL at a later date this summer (2025).

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the William J. Sennott Scholarship Fund at Loyola Academy in Chicago. (Wm J. Sennott Scholarship) The scholarship Fund was established by my father for his father. You will need to scroll down to find his name among the scholarships. My parents were both strong advocates for education. OR, consider a donation to the Boys & Girls Club of America (Boys & Girls Club of America) a philanthropy that was important to my mom.