Obituary of Janet Novotny Greaves

Janet Novotny Greaves, 66, passed away Sunday, May 2, 2021. She is preceded in death by her parents Ed and Dorothy Novotny. Left to cherish her memory are her loving husband, of 25 years, Mark Greaves; son Curtis Olson and wife, Danielle; daughter Monica Olson Stanley and husband Garrett Stanley; brother Wayne Novotny; grandsons Troy and Owen Olson; and a host of many other family and friends. Janet was born in Houston Texas, on September 29th, 1954. She attended Sterling High school in Houston and graduated in 1972. Near the end of her high school years, she met her first husband, Mark Olson. Janet and Mark were married in 1976 and moved to Alvin Texas. She began working for Alvin State bank shortly after moving to Alvin. While working at the bank, Janet discovered a passion for accounting, and began taking night classes. In 1979 Janet and Mark finished building a house in Pearland, Texas, and moved in there. After moving to Pearland, she began working with a private CPA firm in Friendswood, Texas. While working for the CPA firm, Janet also continued to attend night classes to work towards her accounting degree. Once her first child, Monica, was born Janet left the CPA firm to be a full-time mom. After her second child, Curtis, was born she continued to slowly work on her education while being fully committed to raising her children. Once both of her children were in elementary school Janet started her own bookkeeping and tax preparation business, working out of her home. After attending Alvin community college, San Jacinto College, and the University of Houston, she passed her Enrolled Agents exam in 2004. In 1994 Janet and her husband Mark Olson decided to separate after 20 years of marriage. A few years later in 1996, Janet married Mark Greaves who she met at a local softball league. Janet and Mark lived in Pearland until 2008, when they moved to the Bar X ranch in Angleton, Texas. They enjoyed being out in the country so much that Janet moved her office in to Angleton as well. Janet and Mark lived in Angleton for the next 9 years. In 2017 they moved to Lake Jackson, Tx. In May of 2019 Janet was diagnosed with cancer. She made the courageous decision to fight the cancer, choosing to spend as much time as possible with her family. She always said her grandchildren were her reason for fighting. Janet lost her battle with cancer, but she remained strong in her faith with the Lord and was rejoiced in knowing she would soon be with her mother and grandmother in heaven. Janet was a person who led her family by example. She was always there for her kids through all the highs and lows of their life, but also allowed her kids to grow through their own journeys in life. She did her best to focus on getting her kids prepared for life and to build their own families one day. She knew what was best for her kids and did her best to prepare them for the challenge’s life will bring. Janet always had made you feel at home when you were near her, she was an easy person to talk to and be around. She was a straight shooter but always had a goofy side to her character, wherever she went there was always laughter around her. Janet made life easy for the people around her, she had a way of making everything feel okay no matter what uncertainty you were facing in life. She will be dearly missed by all those who knew and loved her.