Janis Hope Beckstrom Friedman, beloved mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and dear friend, passed away peacefully in Rye, NH, on September 4, 2023, with her family by her side. She was the loving wife for 53 years of Lawrence David Friedman, who passed away in 2013. She was born in Stillman Valley, IL, on March 23, 1935, daughter of Iner and Margaret (Hoernecke) Beckstrom, and lived in Rockford, IL, until attending Beloit College, where she earned a BA degree in Biology. She met Larry while working in a biochemistry lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and they were married in 1960. After a short time living in Hiram, OH, they moved to University City, MO, where they lived for 46 years and raised their three sons. In 2004 they became seasonal residents of Kittery, ME, and made that their permanent residence in 2012.

A talented and skilled fabric artist, humble award-winning quilter, and knowledgeable sports fan, she also worked for many years in the research and development department for Brown Shoe Company (maker of the famous Buster Brown shoes), and then for the American Red Cross in St. Louis, MO. Some of her favorite times were spent with her husband and sons at soccer games (she never missed a son's game with the family dog Cobbie), keeping score for Little League and St. Louis Cardinal baseball games, going to the theater, graciously and elegantly hosting family and friends, and spending time at the family cabin in Calhoun County, IL, on the bluffs of the Mississippi River, where she especially enjoyed foraging for wild mushrooms with "the girls", her dear St. Louis friends.

She made long-lasting friends wherever she went, always finding, befriending, and supporting like-minded quilters and artists. She was a longstanding member of the Circle in the Square quilt group in University City, keeping up with them even after moving to Maine, as well as joining several southern Maine quilting/sewing clubs.  She was a woman ahead of her time, an early and long practitioner of tai chi and qi gong, and was regularly wearing crocs when they could only rarely be found at marine harbor stores.

She is survived by sons Michael and wife Holly, and grandchildren Clara and Andrew, of Rockport, MA; Barry and wife Valerie, and grandchildren Cameron and Olivia, of Mashpee, MA; and David and wife Joline, and grandchildren Isabel, Eli, and Adrian, of Falmouth, ME; brothers Roger Beckstrom, Duane Beckstrom, and Keith Beckstrom; nieces Bonnie Vincent, Gretchen Beckstrom, Heidi Connolly, Mette Clementi, and Melissa Sisler; and nephews Robert Wilner, Erik Beckstrom, and Kyle Beckstrom. There will be a private family service at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to Circle in the Square Quilters, 333 Doulton Place, St. Louis, MO, 63141; or online to the American Red Cross: https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation.html/ .  Online condolences may be made by visiting www.jspelkeyfuneralhome.com.