Obituary of Janine Pilman

It is with great heartache that we share the sudden passing of our dear wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend who passed April 1, 2021. Janine was born on April 23, 1957 to James and Jeannine (Prince) Fredenburg and raised in Waukegan, IL. After meeting the love of her life, Kevin Pilman, and dating for 5 years they moved to southern Illinois where they married on February 14, 1981 and started a family. After the birth of their children, they moved to Zion, IL and then to Winthrop Harbor, IL to raise their family. Jan retired in 2020 from Waukegan Public Schools after 25 plus years of food service where she watched over and touched the hearts of so many children who called her “Miss Janine”. Jan loved spending time with family and friends and hosting get-togethers. She enjoyed being a grandma, and taking her granddaughter to look for treasures while garage saling. She was always up for a good bonfire and a cold beer, and she loved jamming out to a good song on the radio. Jan enjoyed simple pleasures like having a cup of coffee and watching the Food Network for new recipes, watching the birds at the bird feeders out the kitchen window, and drives to the lake to look for deer. She was a gardener who loved to plant flowers and vegetables. Jan enjoyed using all of her kitchen gadgets, cooking, baking and making homemade freezer goods and jams. She always enjoyed sharing “Jan’s Jam” with family and friends. She enjoyed her yard ornaments and decorating for each and every holiday. She was a big sports fan always flying the flag of her favorite team on game day. Jan loved going to craft shows and making homemade crafts. She enjoyed shopping, going for a bite to eat, a trip to the bakery, the county fair, apple orchards and pumpkin farms. She enjoyed dirt bike races, tractor pulls and a girls’ day out. Jan was a very loyal, loving, caring, happy person. She had the biggest heart of gold, always doing for others before doing for herself, and she always gave every one big hugs and kisses. She had the greatest smile, laugh and whistle. Not one for goodbyes, “We’ll be talking” was Jan’s sendoff. Jan will be immensely loved and remembered forever by her husband Kevin of 40 years, her daughter Carey and husband Jason Matysik, son Ryan and wife Olivia Pilman and their children Rosalie, Lincoln and Malcolm, brothers Jeff, Scott and Mark Fredenburg and sister Laura and husband Steven Stankovitch. A celebration of Janine’s life with be held at Shiloh Park, 1501 Shiloh Blvd, Zion IL September 25, 2021 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. Parking is available at the pool parking lot.