Barnard Community Spotlight: Jan Dowlin

                Many know her as the “Flower Lady.”  Others know here as a teacher, council member, and a very busy person.  Jan Dowlin is definitely a highly visible person in the Barnard community.

                Janet Nulle and Leo Dowlin met when Leo worked for the Nebraska Fish and Game Department.  Their roommates were seeing each other and Leo and Janet met as the result of a blind date.  It must have worked out very well because they married in 1967 and were married for 42 years.  They have two children, Amber and Marin.

                After marrying Leo, Jan fully embraced Kansas as her home and the Dowlin family as her own.  The Dowlins folded her in and she became and still is close to Leo’s sister, Lenora Howe.  Their relationship is described as being sisters.

                Leo’s job took them to many communities in Kansas before they came back to Barnard.  They lived in El Dorado where Jan also taught.  They moved to Manhattan where their children were born.  In Carbondale, they built their own home and lived there for a number of years before having to move to Independence.  That move was described as the hardest of the moves because of building the home that they had hoped to plant roots with.  Independence is where Leo lost his foot because of an infection he developed during his job as a fishery biologist.  From there, they moved to the Barnard area.  Jan began working at the Beloit juvenile facility as a para-educator and then taught English there until her retirement.

                Jan has suffered personal loss and challenges that have not shaken her character and her commitment to family and life.  Her biological mother died from cancer when Jan was about five years old.  Jan herself is a breast cancer survivor who is an inspiration to others simply by surviving and continuing to do what she wants and loves to do.  Her step-mother died just one month before Leo died.

                Leo and Jan enjoyed gardening together.  In addition to their huge vegetable gardens, they also planted containers of flowers around Barnard.  Leo grew the flowers from seeds and Jan planted them.  Their relationship was very much a partnership.

                Jan’s work on the Barnard city council was unplanned.  She originally was selected on a temporary basis but has continued to be re-elected.  She has served for about eight years.  Jan has firmly worked towards the betterment of Barnard and also worked towards bringing its citizens together.  The annual fish fry is proof of that.

                Another one of Jan’s gifts is that of a good listener.  She may not agree with you but she will give you a chance to voice your opinions.  She believes that things can be worked out if people on either side of the issue will come together in the mindset of working it out.  Jan’s philosophy of life has been summed up as love God; love your family; make sure your family is taken care of; and no matter what happens, you can work through anything as long as you do it together.