Janet Loretta Haffner-Lynn

Janet Loretta Haffner-Lynn, 78, of Great Falls, MT, passed away on January 13, 2022, after an extended battle with hospital acquired Covid pneumonia. She was surrounded by her loving sons at the time of her passing. Janet was born on May 31, 1943, to James and Thelma Tyler in Malta, MT. After graduating with honors from Malta High School, Janet quickly began her dream of becoming a successful businesswoman. She moved in with her aunt in Bellingham, WA and took her first job as a receptionist at an adhesive tape manufacturer called The Velvet Touch. When the company went broke that next year, Janet moved back to Malta briefly before moving to Great Falls in search of opportunities. In 1962, Janet met Bob Haffner at a New Year’s Eve Party in Great Falls. They married 6 months later. Janet and Bob went on to have 3 children. Janet’s first job in Great Falls was with the Montana Employment Office as a receptionist, where she worked until the pregnancy of her first child. After spending 6 months alone at home with RJ, Janet had enough and began looking for a new job. She accepted a job with Blue Cross of Montana as executive secretary to the president and did very well. She eventually worked her way up to vice president of marketing, becoming the first woman to ever hold the position. Janet and Bob were very active with their children, spending many weekends at the lake, on the river, or in Malta visiting Janet’s parents on the farm. Throughout their marriage, Janet and Bob entered several business ventures, among which were a paint store, commercial rentals, insurance sales, and lastly, the R & R Casino. In 1994 Bob Haffner unexpectedly passed away. In 1996, Janet met James Lynn of Great Falls. Janet and Jim married later that same year on November 6. They traveled extensively during the early years of their marriage by travel trailer, plane, and RV. They enjoyed attending all their grandchildren’s sporting events and rarely missed a game or performance. In 2002, RJ returned to Montana to manage the bar which allowed Janet to begin her transition into retirement. Unfortunately, Janet was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2006. While the cancer was successfully treated at the Mayo Clinic, her lungs were never the same, and she lived with this burden until her last day. She was very strong willed and during numerous hospitalizations proved many of her caregivers wrong who underestimated her resilience. As her family, we apologize to any nurse who showed up more than 5 minutes late with her medications, you know who you are and why you didn’t do it again. Janet was preceded in death by her first husband, Bob Haffner; her second husband, James Lynn; her parents, James and Thelma Tyler; her brother, James Tyler; and her sisters, Shirley Legg and Judy Morran Hatten. Janet is survived by her sons, Robert (Penny) Haffner, Fred Haffner, and Tyler (Deidra) Haffner; her sister, Joy (Sam) Perkins; her stepchildren, Misty (Show me the money) Annala and Thomas Lynn; her grandchildren, Dustin (Alexis), Jake, Zack, Jordan, Gabe, Kayla, Sam, and Violet Haffner and Jake and Jessy Annala; and her great-grandchildren Elizabeth, Ricky, and Junior. A memorial service will be held at O'Connor Memorial Chapel on Saturday, February 19, 2022, at 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests you take a walk on the nature trail at Russell Park, a place that was special to Janet and to which she contributed charitably for her neighbors, even though she could not enjoy it in person due to her health.