Janet (Davies) Gassman was born in Swansea, Wales, on May 19, 1943, to John and Megan Davies. She died in Sitka on December 21, 2025. Jan had lived in Sitka for 57 years, from 1959 to 1964 and 1973 to 2025.
Jan lived a long and fulfilled life for the 82 years she was with us. She, her brother Alan, and her parents lived in Wales and then Canada prior to moving to Alaska. The family came to Sitka in 1959 when her dad began working for the Alaska Pulp Corporation pulp mill.
Jan made lifelong best friends attending Sitka High School including, but not limited to, T. Cole and Ann Svendsen Mann. Jan graduated from Sitka High in May 1960, just before turning 17.
Jan worked at the mill prior to moving to New York where she worked for the Alaska Pavilion at
the 1964 World’s Fair. There she met another one of her lifetime best friends, Linda November.
Jan married John Gassman on September 20, 1969, in Seattle, Washington. They moved back to Sitka in
1973 and made Sitka their home. Jan worked as a realtor and banker in Sitka during that time.
She and John had three children: Ted Gassman, Mike Gassman and Gregory Gassman.
Jan’s hobbies and interests included reading, knitting, enjoying a good cup of tea, and traveling – she loved all those things. She taught her granddaughter, Emma Gassman, how to knit and shared her love of reading with her granddaughter as well.
Jan loved trips with her parents and family to Europe, Hawaii, and Nevada (Laughlin, Reno, and Las Vegas). She often got lucky playing video poker. Family who traveled with her reminisced about the trips to Nevada, that the air in the casinos gave Jan energy, and they recalled the times she stayed out all night gambling.
She also was known to be a fussy eater – she hated tomatoes and mushrooms.
Jan and her family also regularly traveled to visit her parents on Vancouver Island, where they had moved after retiring. Finally, Jan enjoyed attending swim meets to watch Emma swim; her most recent trip to attend one of Emma’s larger meets occurred in November 2024 in Oregon.
Jan was a kind woman who will be missed very much by all who survive her.
Immediate survivors in Sitka include son Ted Gassman and his wife Lisa, son Mike Gassman, and
granddaughter Emma Gassman; in Anchorage, brother Alan Davies and nephew Shawn Davies; in
Fairbanks, nephew Roben Davies; in Oregon, sister-in-law Carol Gassman, sister-in-law Terri Gassman and niece Gwen Fraley; and in California niece Julianna Hayes.
Jan has other surviving relatives in Wales and England.
Jan was preceded in death by her parents John and Megan Davies, husband John Gassman, and son Gregory Gassman.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to Prewitt Funeral Home (attn. Janet Gassman
account) or at https://gofund.me/3687d6a46 to cover funeral expenses. The family is planning a
celebration of her life in May 2026.
