Janet Kornfeind

With family at her bedside, Janet “Jan” Lee Kornfeind (née Westendorf), a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, friend, educator, quilter, and entrepreneur, passed away peacefully at her home in Springboro, Ohio, on October 8, 2026. She was 81.

Jan was born in Schenectady, New York, on January 15, 1945, to Eugene “Gene” Westendorf and Betty Westendorf (née Neff). Her siblings were David, Roger, Michael, John, and Joan. She grew up in Dayton, Ohio, spending much of her childhood at 33 Plumwood Road in Holy Angels Parish. Jan loved swimming and competed at the former Oak-Day Swim Club on Irving Avenue. She attended Holy Angels School and Julienne High School.

Her love of sewing began when she started sewing doll clothes for her little sister Joan, and then began sewing clothes for herself, thus nurturing her lifelong love of the needle arts.

Jan continued her education at the University of Dayton, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Education with a minor in Art in 1966. There she met Emil Kornfeind, her husband of almost 60 years, who grew up in Euclid, Ohio, and studied at both the University of Dayton and the Dayton Art Institute.

Jan and Emil met at a student club softball game. Although Jan ignored him for most of the game, the two Flyers struck up a conversation afterward which began a three-year college romance that culminated in their marriage at Holy Angels in July, 1967.

Jan began her teaching career at Whittier Elementary School in Dayton’s Edgemont neighborhood. She later moved with Emil to Kansas City, Missouri, where he began his career as a greeting card artist at Hallmark Cards, Inc. After moving to Kansas City, Missouri, Jan taught first grade for eight years, primarily at Gashland Elementary School in North Kansas City.

When their only child, Benjamin Scott Kornfeind, was born on September 2, 1975, Jan retired from teaching to stay home with him. She continued her love of sewing, creating decorative items for local quilt shops. During the American Bicentennial, Jan recognized a renewed interest in American folk art and crafts. After sewing traditional appliqué patterns for other quilters, she began designing her own patterns and creating sample pieces for quilt shops to display. Her line of appliqué pictures sold briskly at The Quilting Bee in Kansas City’s Plaza area and other local quilt shops, inspiring her to expand the business.

Country Appliques, Inc. was a true home-based startup. Emil and Jan would take their son Benjamin to the local public library, where he browsed picture books while they searched Yellow Pages—from Abilene to Zanesville—to build the customer lists that helped make their company one of the best-known appliqué pattern businesses in the United States and abroad. Over the next 30-plus years, including a move to Leawood, Kansas, Jan and Emil created beloved appliqué designs celebrating American folk art and Christmas traditions, including their best-selling Olde Santas series.

Along with her passion for folk art, Jan loved decorating and collected a wide range of antiques, including more than 100 hand-carved Santa Claus figures. Every Christmas, the collection, together with Emil’s Märklin train set, would take over the house.

While running the business, Jan also spent countless hours reading and playing with Benjamin. The family enjoyed frequent trips to visit relatives in Dayton and Cleveland, as well as vacations to their beloved Siesta Key and Sarasota, Florida. In later years, Jan shared many of Benjamin’s favorite books and Florida vacations with her grandchildren, Samuel and Lily Kornfeind.

Jan was preceded in death by her mother, Betty; her father, Gene; and her brother, Roger. She is survived by her husband, Emil; her son, Benjamin, and daughter-in-law, Jeannette Jakus; grandchildren, Sam and Lily Kornfeind; her brothers David (Charmaine), Michael (Gayle), and John (Judi); sister Joan Will (Michael) and her sister-in-law, Margaret Westendorf.

She left this life after a heroic battle with cancer. She loved so many things—being with her grandchildren above all, card crafting, swimming, baking, playing games with friends and family. She was known and truly beloved by her friends and family as a quietly determined woman who led her life on her terms, with love, humility and a deeply ingrained sense of justice.
A celebration of her life will be held at a later date to be announced

If you would like to make a donation in Jan’s honor, The League of Women Voters or The Dayton St. Vincent dePaul Society would make a meaningful gift.
https://crm.bloomerang.co/HostedDonation?ApiKey=pub_64b5d618-eed6-11ef-b6eb-0699c6635f0d&WidgetId=136192
https://stvincentdayton.org/donate-here/