Kerry Douglas Janney

     Kerry Douglas Janney, age 71, of Elizabethtown, Illinois, passed away on January 28, 2026, leaving behind a life shaped by hardship, humor, compassion, stubbornness, and the kind of human complexity that made him unforgettable.

     Born on January 20, 1955, Kerry came into a world that did not always treat him with the gentleness he deserved. A childhood marked by pain and neglect that left wounds that never fully faded. Still, he grew into a man who somehow managed to carve out laughter, warmth, and goofiness in the cracks of that old hurt. He proved that even a battered heart can still offer love.

     Kerry spent his life caring for others as a nurse, with a mixture of skill, compassion, and a humor that could disarm almost anyone. His patients saw a man who understood suffering and used that understanding to help others through theirs. His family saw a man who could be wonderful one moment and impossible the next, flawed, loving, complicated, and deeply human.

     And oh, his humor. Kerry firmly believed that every sentence deserved its own curse word, and he deployed them with artistic flair. Sometimes he was serious, sometimes he wasn't, and half the time you couldn't tell which was part of his charm. He had an eccentric, over-the-top sense of humor, the kind that blindsided you with unexpected laughter.

     He loved music; I believe it was where he felt the safest. When asked what he wanted played at his funeral, he said, without hesitation, as if he had been waiting to answer the question forever, "I Am a Rock." A choice as ironic as it was honest, fitting for a man who retreated into isolation with the woman he loved, hoarding memories, objects, and moments in their own little world, believing it was safer not to feel too deeply. But anyone who truly knew him understood that those walls existed because he felt so much, not because he didn't.

     Kerry is survived by his wife Peggy (MARGO) Janney; his children Nathan (Charlotte) Janney, Cassandra (Daniel) Decker; and Jessica Janney, and his grandchildren Keegan Janney (23, "the light in his eye"), Cole Decker (10), Cameron Decker (2), Jacob (16), Elijah (14), McKinna (12), Nicole, Ashley, and RJ. He is also survived by his sister, Karen Taylor, and his adored nieces, Nicole, Miranda, and Carly.

     He was preceded in death by his infant Heavenly Baby Janney and his brother Kim Janney.

     Kerry was not a simple man. He was a mosaic of love and anger, humor and hurt, generosity and guardedness. Those who loved him will remember not a polished legend, but a real man, raw, hilarious, imperfect, honest, and ours.

     A service celebrating Kerry's life, contradictions, music, swear words, and all, will be held at Stricklin Funeral Home, Saturday, February 7th at 3 PM, with military honors recognizing his service to his country. And yes, "I Am a Rock" will be played, because he owned it.  Visitation will be held from 2 PM to 3 PM on Saturday, February 7, 2026 at Stricklin Funeral Home.

     May he finally find the peace that so often slipped just beyond his reach. 

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