Janet Thune

Jan (Bradfield) Thune passed away on October 31, 2023. She was born on the 20th of June, 1940, and was raised as an only child on her family farm in Montezuma, Indiana. There, she learned farming, how to ride horses and ponies, and later became a champion-winning rider with many first-place ribbons and trophies.

She attended Indiana State University, attaining a Master's Degree. With this, she had a varied career, starting with teaching junior high, then moving on to college event planning, and following her passion for meeting people and travel, becoming a professional tour director. This resulted in becoming an avid world traveler, exploring many foreign countries on extended stays of several months in some cases. Jan was like the wind; she latched onto whatever way the wind was blowing, and away she went. Her adventures included elephant riding, camping with Maasai warriors, camel riding through the bush, sheep shearing, ocean fishing with the Portuguese fishermen, exploring India by train including rice boating in Kerala, sleeping under the stars in the center of Australia. She traveled Italy and Portugal end-to-end. She covered the gamut with directing the familiar Rose Bowl parade many times, along with extensively directing tours to the faraway countries of China and Taiwan, and on and on, AS THE WIND BLOWS.

Jan loved the outdoors and wasn't afraid of a challenge. With that in mind, and upon the recent retirement of her husband, Bob, Jan and Bob returned to her family's farm roots, becoming hands-on farmers in Parke County, Indiana. Season by season, working together, they went on to farm 1,300 acres. Jan was always driving the equipment with their faithful dalmatian farm dog, Sid, by her side.

In 1996, they left farming and built a new house at Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto, Florida, where, like Jan would do, she made many new friends and continued to travel when the wind would blow. In 2006, ready for a new project, they moved to New Mexico, to build a home overlooking the scenic Rio Grande Valley, a beautiful, artistic, self-created masterpiece.

As a retired person, Jan became an active and well-known fabric and fiber artist, exhibiting in numerous art shows and galleries in and around Las Cruces. She also opened her home studio to public art shows. Jan created an award-winning weaving (from over 250 entries) which now hangs permanently in the Las Cruces Federal Courthouse. In recent years, she was also accepted to be an artist in residence at programs in both Australia and Costa Rica. She became an avid mountain hiker and camper with the High Desert Hikers, hiking frequently and camping multiple times a year. Jan consistently attended Our Lady Of Guadalupe Church and Fair Haven Baptist Church and volunteered her time at the local Safe Haven Animal Sanctuary.

Jan embraced new experiences her entire life and was never shy of being a little bit different, whether making her own clothes and jewelry, trying a new art project or buying the first IBM PC model ever sold, and always learning.

Because of her many activities and "never met a stranger" personality, Jan knew many people in Las Cruces and around the world. As a result of her gregarious nature, she was talking on her smartphone for many hours every single day. She loved people, AND PEOPLE SURE LOVED JAN. She believed that a kind word will keep someone warm for years.

Jan leaves to cherish her memory, a loving husband of 32 years, Bob Thune of Las Cruces, New Mexico; her daughter, Kim Rutledge Hughes, of Bellingham, Washington; her son, Barry Rutledge of Sydney, Australia; and grandchildren, Bella, Grace, Archer, and Jayde; her world-traveling companion, Margo Monks; and the many Terre Haute, Indiana friends, and the MANY other close friends and people she touched on all of her local and worldwide adventures.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Thelma Underwood Bradfield, and her father, Charles Bradfield.

As a married woman, Jan never went to bed at night without finding me, her husband, somewhere in the house and saying, "Goodnight Bob, I Love you." Goodnight Jan, I always loved you too.

A celebration of life will be announced at a later date.