Obituary for Janet Kahler Buehler
Janet Kahler Buehler, 87, died June 23, 2021 at Bakersfield’s Memorial Hospital after a complex heart surgery to resolve blockages in her coronary arteries.
Janet Eileen Kahler was born on January 13, 1934, the youngest of 3 children, in the small farming community of Marion, Iowa, to parents Burt and Emily Kahler. After growing up on her parents’ small farm, she graduated from Franklin High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She then attended Maryville College in Tennessee for two years before transferring to the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville, Tennessee. There she attained her B.S. in Nursing, summa cum laude (valedictorian) in June of 1957 and soon thereafter obtained her license as a registered nurse, marking the start of a remarkable career in nursing that spanned 57 years.
During her college years, she met a red-haired medical student Hubert Buehler, also from Cedar Rapids, and the two were married in 1954. In 1960 she gave birth to her son, Paul, and their daughter Martha was born in 1962. After Hubert completed his residency, they joined the Presbyterian Mission and moved the family to Mashhad, Iran in 1964 where they both worked in a mission hospital for two and a half years. There Jan worked as a clinical supervisor for nursing students. After returning from Iran in 1967, she devoted her time to raising her children and was very active in numerous community activities. After a brief stay in Cleveland, Ohio, the family moved to Bakersfield in 1970. A devout, lifelong Presbyterian, Jan was very active in the local church, serving as a youth leader for 4 years, church secretary for 6 years, and Literary Chairwoman for the Presbyterian Women’s Association for 3 years. In addition to her service with the church, she served on several youth baseball boards and committees, including traveling to multiple goodwill tournaments, playing against teams from other countries. After her divorce in 1978, she returned to full-time nursing at Kern Medical Center where she worked 10 years, eight of those as a supervisory nurse of the Medical Surgical and Orthopedics units. In 1988 she moved to private sector nursing in the field of home healthcare where she pioneered many post-operative and home care protocols for Kern County. Later in her career, she returned to public-sector nursing where she assisted with care for needy children and their families, providing medical oversight and care. For the last several years of her career, she continued working a 3-day per week schedule, finally retiring from nursing at 80 years of age. She truly enjoyed helping, caring for, and working with people, which made nursing the perfect profession for her kind, compassionate, and cheerful personality.
In 1995, while working for Home Health, Jan met Tom Oliver and fell in love. They shared a passion for music, movies, basketball, dogs, and travel. Jan traveled a lot in her life with her kids and Tom. She went to New Zealand, Australia, Jamaica, and on cruises to Alaska, the Caribbean, Mexico and the Panama Canal with her son Paul and his wife. She also traveled to Africa with her daughter Martha and her husband. She and Tom also enjoyed traveling to numerous jazz festivals.
Jan’s passions in life involved her faith in God, her family, her dogs, the L.A. Lakers and music. She was a die-hard Laker Fan for 30+ years, rarely missing a game, and often attending in person. Jan was an avid racquetball and tennis player for much of her life, she loved to cook and there was never a lack of food in her home. She was a highly skilled shopper whom Macy’s will dearly miss! She was an accomplished seamstress, who could fix just about anything and a master of the laundry if anything got stained. Jan loved the outdoors and enjoyed camping and backpacking with her son Paul in places like the Grand Canyon, the high Sierra and parts of Yosemite, well into her 80s. Her love of music included playing her keyboard at home and sharing her beautiful singing voice whether it was in a church choir or around a warm campfire.
Above all, Jan was a wonderful, loving and giving human being who touched the lives of so many people in a positive and uplifting way. Her cheerful demeanor and vibrant personality truly made her a unique and special human being who will be missed by all those who knew her.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made on her behalf to the Southland Collie Rescue of Riverside, California or to the Salvation Army.
Janet is survived by her son Paul and his wife Teri, daughter Martha Burk and her husband Floyd, all of San Diego, brother Gene Kahler of Ennis, Texas, and long-time companion Thomas Oliver of Bakersfield. She was preceded in death by parents Burt and Emily Kahler, step-father Carl Krause, brother Ted Kahler of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and former husband Hubert Buehler.
Janet Eileen Kahler was born on January 13, 1934, the youngest of 3 children, in the small farming community of Marion, Iowa, to parents Burt and Emily Kahler. After growing up on her parents’ small farm, she graduated from Franklin High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She then attended Maryville College in Tennessee for two years before transferring to the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville, Tennessee. There she attained her B.S. in Nursing, summa cum laude (valedictorian) in June of 1957 and soon thereafter obtained her license as a registered nurse, marking the start of a remarkable career in nursing that spanned 57 years.
During her college years, she met a red-haired medical student Hubert Buehler, also from Cedar Rapids, and the two were married in 1954. In 1960 she gave birth to her son, Paul, and their daughter Martha was born in 1962. After Hubert completed his residency, they joined the Presbyterian Mission and moved the family to Mashhad, Iran in 1964 where they both worked in a mission hospital for two and a half years. There Jan worked as a clinical supervisor for nursing students. After returning from Iran in 1967, she devoted her time to raising her children and was very active in numerous community activities. After a brief stay in Cleveland, Ohio, the family moved to Bakersfield in 1970. A devout, lifelong Presbyterian, Jan was very active in the local church, serving as a youth leader for 4 years, church secretary for 6 years, and Literary Chairwoman for the Presbyterian Women’s Association for 3 years. In addition to her service with the church, she served on several youth baseball boards and committees, including traveling to multiple goodwill tournaments, playing against teams from other countries. After her divorce in 1978, she returned to full-time nursing at Kern Medical Center where she worked 10 years, eight of those as a supervisory nurse of the Medical Surgical and Orthopedics units. In 1988 she moved to private sector nursing in the field of home healthcare where she pioneered many post-operative and home care protocols for Kern County. Later in her career, she returned to public-sector nursing where she assisted with care for needy children and their families, providing medical oversight and care. For the last several years of her career, she continued working a 3-day per week schedule, finally retiring from nursing at 80 years of age. She truly enjoyed helping, caring for, and working with people, which made nursing the perfect profession for her kind, compassionate, and cheerful personality.
In 1995, while working for Home Health, Jan met Tom Oliver and fell in love. They shared a passion for music, movies, basketball, dogs, and travel. Jan traveled a lot in her life with her kids and Tom. She went to New Zealand, Australia, Jamaica, and on cruises to Alaska, the Caribbean, Mexico and the Panama Canal with her son Paul and his wife. She also traveled to Africa with her daughter Martha and her husband. She and Tom also enjoyed traveling to numerous jazz festivals.
Jan’s passions in life involved her faith in God, her family, her dogs, the L.A. Lakers and music. She was a die-hard Laker Fan for 30+ years, rarely missing a game, and often attending in person. Jan was an avid racquetball and tennis player for much of her life, she loved to cook and there was never a lack of food in her home. She was a highly skilled shopper whom Macy’s will dearly miss! She was an accomplished seamstress, who could fix just about anything and a master of the laundry if anything got stained. Jan loved the outdoors and enjoyed camping and backpacking with her son Paul in places like the Grand Canyon, the high Sierra and parts of Yosemite, well into her 80s. Her love of music included playing her keyboard at home and sharing her beautiful singing voice whether it was in a church choir or around a warm campfire.
Above all, Jan was a wonderful, loving and giving human being who touched the lives of so many people in a positive and uplifting way. Her cheerful demeanor and vibrant personality truly made her a unique and special human being who will be missed by all those who knew her.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made on her behalf to the Southland Collie Rescue of Riverside, California or to the Salvation Army.
Janet is survived by her son Paul and his wife Teri, daughter Martha Burk and her husband Floyd, all of San Diego, brother Gene Kahler of Ennis, Texas, and long-time companion Thomas Oliver of Bakersfield. She was preceded in death by parents Burt and Emily Kahler, step-father Carl Krause, brother Ted Kahler of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and former husband Hubert Buehler.