Janet Rae O'Dell, of Great Falls, passed away on March 13, 2012 from acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Born and raised in St. Louis, Mo., she moved to the Washington area in 1972. A long-time business entrepreneur in Northern Virginia, from 1976 to 1987 she was the owner of Jan's Potpourri Flowers in Vienna. She subsequently became a licensed real estate broker and owned her own real estate and mortgage banking businesses until 2010. At the time of her death, she was a mortgage banker for Capital One Bank, serving their Great Falls and McLean offices.
Known for being great fun, big hearted and forthright, O'Dell was an active and doting grandmother to her four grandchildren, Harry and Harper Malesardi of Great Falls and Collin and Sean O'Dell of Telluride, Colo., to whom she taught many important life skills such as whistling, tree climbing and five-card stud poker. In her spare time, she loved to travel and enjoyed socializing with a close circle of dear friends who played tournament poker.
In addition to her grandchildren, she is survived by three children: Mark B. O'Dell (daughter-in-law Allison) of Telluride, Colo.; Kelly O'Dell Malesardi (son-in-law Michael) of Great Falls; and Kimberly O'Dell Flanders, also of Great Falls.
O'Dell wanted no funeral service and instead requested an old-fashioned Irish party in her honor. On March 15, over 150 friends and family gathered together to raise a glass to honor and celebrate O'Dell's grand life.
Expressions of sympathy can be made to Capital Caring Hospice (www.capitalcaring.org) or Autism Speaks (www.autismspeaks.org).