Janet Veronica Shaw Hurley (nee Littlewood) passed away in her 90th year on March 14, 2024, in Nanaimo, BC. She was pre-deceased by husbands Luciano Gioia, David Adolphus and Kenneth Hurley, and parents Beryl Rosamond Burridge and John Vernon Littlewood. Janet is survived by her son, Peter Hurley (b. Adolphus), grandsons Tristan and Devin Hurley, and daughter, Teresa (Tracy) Hurley (b. Adolphus).
Born in Wales, UK, Janet was a force of nature from an early age, excelling in almost everything she undertook. She spent her earliest years in England, then moving to Los Angeles, California at age 6, where she studied harp, piano and singing. At age 9 she appeared in a brief speaking role in the 1943 classic, “Lassie Come Home”. Deemed a child prodigy in music, Janet performed as a soloist harpist and opera singer and earned a scholarship to the University of Rome in 1950. At university she studied music, archeology and library sciences. She also studied music at Academie di Santa Cecilia and art and sculpture at Scuola d’Belle Arte. In 1955 she attended Northwestern Polytechnic in London, UK to earn her advanced degree in Library Sciences and in 1956 attained her Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, UK.
Janet emigrated to Toronto, Canada in 1956. She joined the Scarborough Choral Society as the lead soprano and performed in many productions earning the highest praise of entertainment critics. She also performed as a professional harpist, in addition to her full-time career in library services.
She loved sailing and thought nothing unusual about refurbishing a 40+ foot sailboat in the driveway of her Scarborough home. She was adept at electrical, plumbing, renovating…she didn’t hesitate to take anything on that she hadn’t done before, she just figured out how to do it. She never stopped, there were always multiple projects on the go.
Janet’s greatest love in life was animals. There was always at least one dog in the mix, a parrot, cats, iguanas, peacocks, horses, lamas, koi, even orphaned raccoons. If an animal showed up at the door, she’d take it in. The animal planet has lost a most loyal friend.
Some thoughts from those who knew her:
“Janet was a loyal friend, a hugely talented individual I greatly admired, and definitely one-of-a-kind!”
“An amazing lady…definitely a force of nature.”
“Incredibly talented, accomplished and resourceful.”
“A very interesting woman, had done so much in her life…we remember how good she was to us.”
“I often think of Janet and remember a woman with strength, intelligence and an unbelievable faith in what can be done in this world to make it a better place.”