Janet Fishbain

Madison - Janet (Rietveld) Fishbain, 80, of Madison passed away on Saturday, June 26th, 2021 after a short battle with pneumonia at St. Mary’s Hospital. Born January 18th, 1941 in Chicago Heights Illinois to Isaac and Elizabeth (Bardwick) Rietveld, Janet spent her youth on the family farm riding her horse, participating in 4H, and spending time with her extended Rietveld family.   After graduating from Bloom Township High School, Janet got her degree in English Education from Hope College in Holland, Michigan, and her Master’s degree in English Literature from the University of Colorado in Boulder.   Done with school, Janet moved to Racine to start her teaching career at Horlick High School.  While at Horlick, Janet met history teacher and football coach Jerome Fishbain and the two wed on June 18th, 1966 at the Rietveld family farm.

Janet loved teaching English, regardless of where she was. Over the years she taught at three different high schools in Racine, at UW- River Falls, as a substitute in the Madison Metropolitan School District, and at Madison Area Technical College but her longest and favorite stint was at the University of Wisconsin Writing Center.  During her thirty-year tenure at the center, Janet helped thousands of students improve their writing skills and in 2002 she was awarded the Chancellor’s Hilldale Award for Excellence in Teaching.

When Janet wasn’t teaching, you could always find her working on some sort of handiwork-particularly knitting and quilting.  Her gorgeous hand-knit sweaters were only for the family but many friends were lucky enough to receive hand-knit socks, mittens, scarves or hats, hand-crafted jewelry, handmade quilts, and baby blankets as gifts.  She was so prolific with her creations that her children would often suggest she sell what she made but she insisted she only liked to make things for people she loved.

Janet is survived by her husband Jerome; her children Jason, Sarah (Chris) Leonard, and Rachael (Dan) Hagen; her three grandchildren, Dagan and Alisana Fishbain and Jacob Leonard; and her two step-grandchildren, Brea and Reese Hagen.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Paul and her sister Marguerite.

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations should be made to the Alzheimer’s association.  https://www.alz.org/get-involved-now/donate

A public visitation will be held at Cress funeral home (3610 Speedway Rd, Madison WI) on Tuesday, July 6 from 12:00-3:00 pm.

Cress Funeral & Cremation Services

3610 Speedway Road

(608) 238-3434

Please share memories at

www.cressfuneralservice.com