Dear SSML Members,
Sadly, we lost Janet Ruth Heller in mid-October 2025 to pancreatic cancer. As many of you know, Janet was a wonderful person, an accomplished poet, and a talented scholar. She was a vital member of SSML for many years. She served as SSML President, published regularly in society journals, and read poetry and scholarly papers at the conference each year. Put simply, Janet was a mainstay of SSML.
Despite her declining health, Janet organized, moderated, and funded an excellent poetry session with Linda Nemec Foster and Scott M. Bade at last year’s 2025 SSML conference. This was her last trip outside Kalamazoo, where she resided, except for medically related trips.
Janet’s family, coordinated by her brother Paul Heller, has set up a foundation to direct and fund a team to continue her literary legacy and is seeking literary consultants.
Janet published across five areas: Literary Criticism, Essays, Academic Scholarship (in general), Poetry, and Children’s Books.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Hotz, on behalf of the Heller family and the JRH Foundation
Janet’s obituary is included below, along with this link to a beautiful memorial service celebrating Janet’s life that was held in Kalamazoo on December 9, 2025, at Temple B’nai Israel: https://www.youtube.com/live/s5vUeFvkQiU