Janie M. Laubscher

Janie May Mitchell Laubscher, of Mechanicsburg, passed away on November 16, 2024. She was born in Atlanta, GA on July 24, 1940 to COL Ralph Molyneux Mitchell and Adele Hartman Mitchell. She was named after her Aunt May Nolen and her grandmother Jennie May Hartman, both of whom influenced her life greatly. Raised in Harrisburg, Carlisle, and then Shippensburg, Janie had a sharp intelligence that allowed her to skip 2 grades in elementary school, so she graduated high school at age 15 from Penn Hall Preparatory School in Chambersburg. She then earned a B.A. in French from American University, Washington, DC, at age 19. Soon after her graduation, she married Second Lieutenant Eugene Donald Griffith, newly graduated himself from the United States Military Academy, at the chapel at West Point, NY. While in college, Janie was in the Women’s Army Corps’ College Junior Program and then served in the Women’s Army Corps, rising to the rank of First Lieutenant before she resigned from her commission while pregnant with her first child. Janie’s life as an Army wife took her to North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia and New York before she ended her marriage and moved with her children to Richmond, VA. She began her career with the Social Security Administration there as a Claims Representative before being transferred to York to serve in the same position. She briefly left the SSA and was employed with the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation in Richmond as a Disability Determination Specialist and then returned to York before moving her family to Carlisle upon becoming the Branch Manager of the SSA office there. She worked as an Area IV Administrative Assistant in Harrisburg and, finally, as the District Manager of the SSA office in Chambersburg before her retirement. Additionally, Janie joined the U.S. Army Reserves in 1974 and served for 11 years before retiring at the rank of Major.

On St. Patrick’s Day in 1978, Janie took a leap of faith and went on a blind date and met the love of her life, COL Alan Laubscher, at Carlisle Barracks. After a 20-year courtship, the couple married in 1998 on the anniversary of the day they met. Janie and Alan enjoyed a happy marriage, full of love and adventure, until Alan passed away in 2015.

Janie was sparkling, creative, witty, and talented at cooking, painting, composing poetry, sewing, knitting, and crochet. Her breadth of interests and her ability to accomplish anything she set her mind to resulted in her becoming a skier, a horseback rider, and a computer programmer. She also learned to play the piano by ear without ever learning to read music. In her 70s, she discovered beading and made beautiful jewelry she both gifted to friends and family and sold in local shops until her rheumatoid arthritis greatly affected her mobility and her ability to work with her hands. Janie loved all holidays and celebrated them enthusiastically with her family. Her favorite, though, was Christmas, so much so that when she designed her Mechanicsburg home, she included an enormous walk-in Christmas closet for storing her multitude of seasonal decorations. She cared passionately about tablescapes and could always be counted upon to set unique and beautiful tables for holidays and special occasions. Throughout her life, Janie was a voracious reader and passed her love of books along to her children. She had a marvelous sense of humor and delighted in the pranks her family played on one another and was often the instigator of the mischief. Her husband Alan turned her into an NFL football fan, and they rooted for his hometown team, the San Francisco 49ers. Although Janie battled rheumatoid arthritis and other health problems, she did so with amazing strength, courage, and cheer that will continue to be an inspiration to everyone who knew her. She was also loving, kind, gracious, and, perhaps most importantly, a wonderful mother.

Janie is survived by her children, Jennifer Griffith of Athens, GA, and Rachel Griffith and Douglas Griffith, both of Mechanicsburg. She leaves behind too a granddaughter, Lucy Griffith of Carlisle; her adored brother and childhood co-conspirator, COL Ralph M. Mitchell II, and his wife Carol of West Palm Beach, FL; a nephew, Steven Mitchell, of Hoover, AL; and her cherished best friend of nearly 60 years, Patt Seely of Carlisle. Janie was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Alan, and her niece Melissa Mitchell.

Janie’s funeral service will take place at a later date at the chapel at Fort Myer, VA before she is interred with Alan in Arlington National Cemetery. There she will be laid to rest with military honors.