Obituary
Janet (Westerberg) Cadena (January 1946 – June 2023)

Janet (Westerberg) Cadena (January 1946 – June 2023)

Janet (Westerberg) Cadena passed away peacefully in her sleep at her home in Fresno CA. on June 13th, 2023, after a long and courageous battle with COPD. Janet was born on January 16th, 1946 in Fillmore CA. to Art and Shirley Westerberg. She grew up on Clay St. where she met many childhood friends, including her lifelong best friend, Jennifer (Myers) Lawrence with whom she shared many laughs and adventures. As confidantes, Janet and Jennifer were like inseparable sisters during their 70+ year friendship. Janet attended Fillmore High School where she was known as a good athlete and a great dancer, receiving many compliments on her great legs. After graduating Fillmore High School in 1963 Janet married Rick Cadena Sr. on June 5th, 1964 in Santa Maria California. Rick and Janet first made their home in Piru, CA where they welcomed their oldest son Rick Jr. in 1965. In 1969 they moved to Fillmore where they bought a new home on Cook Drive. In 1970 their youngest son Michael was born. Janet was very proud of her boys and worked very hard to provide a good loving home for them. Janet worked at variety of places to provide for her sons including, Camarillo State Hospital, Thrifty’s Drugstore, Dick’s Market, Northrop (where she received industry recognition for her innovative Quality Assurance engineering procedures), Longs Drugs and finally retiring from Santa Clara Valley Bank. Janet continued to be active by playing on numerous softball teams throughout her life, starting with the Hit & Mrs. fast pitch team coached by Hank and Mary Lou Carrillo. She went on to play on various slow pitch teams both women’s and co-ed and even was able to play on several co-ed teams with her oldest son Rick Jr. Janet was forever proud of her boys accomplishments, from their high school sports achievements, to when her youngest went off to college, to successes in their careers, to when they got married and started their own families. As proud as she was of her sons, nothing compared to the joy and pride she had for her grandchildren. You could see the sparkle in her eyes when she would talk about them and the big smile she had when they came to visit and spend time with her. She would always buy them little gifts and play whatever games they wanted to play. As Janet’s disease progressed she moved in with her oldest son Rick Jr. and his family in Fillmore. She was able to have great quality time with her grandchildren. It was during this time after being single for years that Janet attended the Fillmore Alumni Dinner and reconnected with acquaintance from high school, Jim Hunter. Little did we know that this connection would turn into Janet finding the love of her life and that Jim would remain by her side and caring for her for the rest of her life. It was around this time that Janet and Jim made the decision to move to Fresno to be closer to her son Michael and his family. There she was able to spend lots of time with her youngest grandchildren, enjoying watching them grow and play sports. Traveling became difficult for Janet so she enjoyed the holidays when all her family could gather at her son Michael’s home and could be together with all her family at one place, it brought real joy to her heart for everyone to be together. Janet was a diehard Dodger fan and spent her later years watching Dodger games and calling and texting family and friends with updates, cheering when they were winning and expressing her frustration when they were losing. Janet is survived by her brothers, Roger Westerberg and his wife Kathe and Victor Westerberg and his wife Pat, her sons, Rick Jr., his wife Cindy and their children Joshua, David, Janaye and Ricky, Her son Michael his wife Michelle, and their children Madeline Rose, and twin boys Cameron and Christian. Janet is also survived by her partner who loved her and cared for her through her illness, Jim Hunter, who will always be considered a part of our family and we will always be grateful for the way he cared for our Mom. Janet had a heart of gold, especially for underprivileged children and woman. She regarded Vietnam Veterans with honor being particularly proud of her brother Victor’s service in Vietnam. Her loving generosity supported charities who helped these people. Per Janet’s wishes, there will be a simple graveside service at Bardsdale Cemetery in Fillmore on December 22nd at 11 AM.