Our friend, Jan Smith

WWOB Lead Costume Designer, 2015-2020

Jan Smith was raised in the California Bay Area and graduated from California State University Hayward with a Bachelors Degree in Sociology. She retired from Pacific Gas and Electric as a Network Specialist, and moved to Roswell in 2006 with her husband. Jan credits her mother for teaching her to sew at a young age.

We lost Jan in June 2021 after a long, brave battle with cancer.

Jan began with WWOB from the very beginning, and served as the primary costumer for all 15 of WWOB’s mainstage productions. Her dedication and generosity to her theatre family was monumental, and we will never be able to replace her.

At WWOB, we use the term “family” very deliberately in describing the group of people that help bring our shows to life. At the end of the day, it’s not about how successful a show sold, or the size of the audience… It’s really about the people you meet and the the relationships you form. Though we are filled with sadness, we are thankful to have known and worked with Jan, and to have called her “family.”

Jan often cited LES MISERABLES as her favorite WWOB production. It was the first time we all set out to create something on stage, and Jan was a part of all of it, not only in the creation of beautiful costumes, but in many other aspects of the production. And so it seems fitting as we say goodbye to our dear friend that we share this line from the show.

“And remember, the truth that once was spoken…To love another person is to see the face of God.”