Janie M. O'Donnell
May 27, 1953 - January 7, 2023
Janie O’Donnell, 69, of Brockton Massachusetts passed away suddenly on January 7, 2023. Her daughter held her when she passed.
Janie was born on May 27, 1953 in Brookline, Massachusetts to Ellen (Eleanor) and William (Bill) J. O’Donnell. She grew up in Plympton, Massachusetts and graduated from Silver Lake Regional High School in 1972.
Janie will always be remembered as the most beautiful girl in any room. And, she was as loud and as wild as she was attractive. Janie enjoyed all things fast and there was nothing she wouldn’t try. A true “daddy’s girl” when she was young, Bill could never turn her down. So when she found her first horse, with the help of her friend Cathy, the O’Donnell family quickly became part of the horse and show circuit. Janie was a skilled horseman, and while she was gorgeous in Saddlebred Pleasure classes, there was no denying she had the spirit of a barrel racer, and that continued long after she stopped riding.
In High School, Janie found her love for something else fast…cars and drag racing. And, Bill didn’t deny her there either. She was often racing her Road Runner or GTO around the backroads of the South Shore, skipping school, and sneaking some Boone’s Farm or moonshine. It was not uncommon for Janie to get a police escort back to her dad, securing the nickname “Jane the Pain” and “Lead Foot”. Janie married her high-school sweetheart and mechanic, Tommy, and sadly lost him shortly after their wedding.
Janie went on to marry Jeff Aylward, had two children, Heidi & Shawn, and they lived in North Carolina and Alaska. She made friends everywhere she went, and maintained a lot of her Army wife friendships late into life.
Janie returned to Massachusetts and made Falmouth her home with her children. She knew all her kid’s friends, and was proud of having an open-door house. While most parents complained about feeding the neighborhood, Janie loved it. In fact, most of the time, the neighborhood was at her house, with bikes & skateboards piled up on the lawn.
Janie ran a home-based daycare when her children were small and eventually moved into health care. She worked the rest of her life as a Certified Nursing Assistant, caring for other people. Janie fell on many hard times and experienced difficult losses in her life. Janie’s lived experience and personal struggles would make coping and sobriety a lifelong challenge of hers. However, those experiences also made her a special caregiver. She never passed judgement on others’ circumstances and she’d help anyone who needed it.
Some people says they would give you the shirt of their back, Janie actually did. She loved to love, often caring more about others than herself. She was capable of giving people authentic and dignified care during their most difficult times. In her work, Janie helped many as they aged in nursing homes or at home, progressed in disease or illness, and comforted so many as they passed on. Janie was her most powerful and beautiful self when she was helping others, and she will be remembered for her humanity in those moments.
Janie was also the life of a party, she loved to be happy, and she was always the best-dressed woman. Not just a high-school yearbook title, either. Her clothes were true to her personality. She chose things that made her feel happy. In the 70’s, she was an absolute stunner, ironing her long hair and sewing her own polyester wrap skirts to wear over leotards for dancing. If you knew her in the 80’s, her hat matched the earrings that matched the dress that matched the pocketbook & heels. In the 90’s, she had 20 brightly colored tracksuits and each had a banana clip to go with it. And, if she was in scrubs, which she often was, her socks and scrunchies matched them. Her holiday outfits were ridiculous, but she loved them and the reaction they got.
Janie experienced and tried a lot of things in her short life. She learned to hunt and shoot in Alaska. She learned to sew, making clothes for her and Heidi in the 70’s, and at one point the whole house was decorated with something she made in gingham. Janie also danced, and sang every chance she got. She had a proud collection of LPs and 45s from her younger days.
Janie was most proud of the young women Heidi’s girls grew up to be, and she was simply thrilled to have a new grandson from Shawn, who was named after him. She loved the title of “Nanie” And being the fun one. Janie was the kind of grandmother that wore the bubble-gum machine jewelry Alexis gave her, she was thrilled to be invited to dress up to trick-or-treat with Savannah, and she covered the house in dancing and singing holiday decorations for Shawn Jr..
Janie’s door was always open, she remembered everyone’s birthday, and she had a wicked sense of humor. She could go toe-to-toe with truckers or sailors, sing every word of Last Kiss before it was ever covered, had a thousand uses for super-glue, and used her glove box to store speeding tickets. She was also the mom to several bassett hounds, Bentley, Humphrey & Jake over the years. She had the most beautiful eyes, the largest smile and the loudest laugh.
Sadly, Janie recently lost her son, Shawn. They shared a close mother-son bond, so that loss was particularly difficult for her heart to hold. It’s no surprise that it was her heart that failed her. We are comforted knowing that they will be together and that they will be looking out for little Shawn Jr..
Janie is predeceased by both parents Ellen (Eleanor) & William (Bill) O’Donnell of Plympton, Massachusetts, and her son Shawn M. Aylward of Rockland, Massachusetts.
She is survived by her daughter, Heidi Aylward of Plymouth Massachusetts, her granddaughters Alexis Aylward of Buzzard’s Bay, Massachusetts, and Savannah Aylward of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and her grandson Shawn Aylward, Jr. of Plymouth Massachusetts. Janie is also survived by her siblings Peter & Cookie O’Donnell of Monticello, Florida, Barbara Gates of Peabody, Massachusetts, and Jamie Pino or Plympton, Massachusetts.
Janie will be laid to rest next to her son. Service and burial will be private. In lieu of flowers her family invites you to share a photo or memory for her grandchildren here, donate to Wishes for Shawn at Harbor One Bank, 43 Commerce Way, Plymouth or make an unrestricted donation to The South Shore Community Action Council.
Janie was born on May 27, 1953 in Brookline, Massachusetts to Ellen (Eleanor) and William (Bill) J. O’Donnell. She grew up in Plympton, Massachusetts and graduated from Silver Lake Regional High School in 1972.
Janie will always be remembered as the most beautiful girl in any room. And, she was as loud and as wild as she was attractive. Janie enjoyed all things fast and there was nothing she wouldn’t try. A true “daddy’s girl” when she was young, Bill could never turn her down. So when she found her first horse, with the help of her friend Cathy, the O’Donnell family quickly became part of the horse and show circuit. Janie was a skilled horseman, and while she was gorgeous in Saddlebred Pleasure classes, there was no denying she had the spirit of a barrel racer, and that continued long after she stopped riding.
In High School, Janie found her love for something else fast…cars and drag racing. And, Bill didn’t deny her there either. She was often racing her Road Runner or GTO around the backroads of the South Shore, skipping school, and sneaking some Boone’s Farm or moonshine. It was not uncommon for Janie to get a police escort back to her dad, securing the nickname “Jane the Pain” and “Lead Foot”. Janie married her high-school sweetheart and mechanic, Tommy, and sadly lost him shortly after their wedding.
Janie went on to marry Jeff Aylward, had two children, Heidi & Shawn, and they lived in North Carolina and Alaska. She made friends everywhere she went, and maintained a lot of her Army wife friendships late into life.
Janie returned to Massachusetts and made Falmouth her home with her children. She knew all her kid’s friends, and was proud of having an open-door house. While most parents complained about feeding the neighborhood, Janie loved it. In fact, most of the time, the neighborhood was at her house, with bikes & skateboards piled up on the lawn.
Janie ran a home-based daycare when her children were small and eventually moved into health care. She worked the rest of her life as a Certified Nursing Assistant, caring for other people. Janie fell on many hard times and experienced difficult losses in her life. Janie’s lived experience and personal struggles would make coping and sobriety a lifelong challenge of hers. However, those experiences also made her a special caregiver. She never passed judgement on others’ circumstances and she’d help anyone who needed it.
Some people says they would give you the shirt of their back, Janie actually did. She loved to love, often caring more about others than herself. She was capable of giving people authentic and dignified care during their most difficult times. In her work, Janie helped many as they aged in nursing homes or at home, progressed in disease or illness, and comforted so many as they passed on. Janie was her most powerful and beautiful self when she was helping others, and she will be remembered for her humanity in those moments.
Janie was also the life of a party, she loved to be happy, and she was always the best-dressed woman. Not just a high-school yearbook title, either. Her clothes were true to her personality. She chose things that made her feel happy. In the 70’s, she was an absolute stunner, ironing her long hair and sewing her own polyester wrap skirts to wear over leotards for dancing. If you knew her in the 80’s, her hat matched the earrings that matched the dress that matched the pocketbook & heels. In the 90’s, she had 20 brightly colored tracksuits and each had a banana clip to go with it. And, if she was in scrubs, which she often was, her socks and scrunchies matched them. Her holiday outfits were ridiculous, but she loved them and the reaction they got.
Janie experienced and tried a lot of things in her short life. She learned to hunt and shoot in Alaska. She learned to sew, making clothes for her and Heidi in the 70’s, and at one point the whole house was decorated with something she made in gingham. Janie also danced, and sang every chance she got. She had a proud collection of LPs and 45s from her younger days.
Janie was most proud of the young women Heidi’s girls grew up to be, and she was simply thrilled to have a new grandson from Shawn, who was named after him. She loved the title of “Nanie” And being the fun one. Janie was the kind of grandmother that wore the bubble-gum machine jewelry Alexis gave her, she was thrilled to be invited to dress up to trick-or-treat with Savannah, and she covered the house in dancing and singing holiday decorations for Shawn Jr..
Janie’s door was always open, she remembered everyone’s birthday, and she had a wicked sense of humor. She could go toe-to-toe with truckers or sailors, sing every word of Last Kiss before it was ever covered, had a thousand uses for super-glue, and used her glove box to store speeding tickets. She was also the mom to several bassett hounds, Bentley, Humphrey & Jake over the years. She had the most beautiful eyes, the largest smile and the loudest laugh.
Sadly, Janie recently lost her son, Shawn. They shared a close mother-son bond, so that loss was particularly difficult for her heart to hold. It’s no surprise that it was her heart that failed her. We are comforted knowing that they will be together and that they will be looking out for little Shawn Jr..
Janie is predeceased by both parents Ellen (Eleanor) & William (Bill) O’Donnell of Plympton, Massachusetts, and her son Shawn M. Aylward of Rockland, Massachusetts.
She is survived by her daughter, Heidi Aylward of Plymouth Massachusetts, her granddaughters Alexis Aylward of Buzzard’s Bay, Massachusetts, and Savannah Aylward of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and her grandson Shawn Aylward, Jr. of Plymouth Massachusetts. Janie is also survived by her siblings Peter & Cookie O’Donnell of Monticello, Florida, Barbara Gates of Peabody, Massachusetts, and Jamie Pino or Plympton, Massachusetts.
Janie will be laid to rest next to her son. Service and burial will be private. In lieu of flowers her family invites you to share a photo or memory for her grandchildren here, donate to Wishes for Shawn at Harbor One Bank, 43 Commerce Way, Plymouth or make an unrestricted donation to The South Shore Community Action Council.
