Smith: A sendoff for Art Janssen, and a tiny love story from Siena

There will be a public celebration of the full, mostly happy and extraordinarily long life of Art Janssen, who was born in Sonoma County in 1909 and died here Dec. 14 after a red-carpet final hurrah.

A service is set for Jan. 27 in Santa Rosa, the city of Art’s birth 109 years ago. The memorial will begin at 2 p.m. at the Scottish Rite Temple on Acacia Lane at Sonoma Highway.

Born in the South Park neighborhood on Oct. 23 of 1909, Art was in recent years one of the oldest men on Earth.

As remarkable as his age was how astoundingly alert, sociable and eager to stay engaged he was. Though nearly blind and quite hard of hearing, Art didn’t hesitate when an opportunity arose on the Sunday after Thanksgiving last year to fly to L.A. and appear in the Hollywood Christmas Parade.

His hosts were with Ripley Entertainment Inc., steward of Santa Rosa native Robert Ripley’s renowned mission to chronicle the most astounding or bizarre people, animals and phenomena on the planet.

The Ripley company this past year celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! newspaper cartoon. The Ripley Entertainment people were giddy to mark the occasion by having a 109-year-old man from Ripley’s hometown ride in their entry in the Hollywood Christmas Parade.

From the shotgun seat in a classic Rolls-Royce convertible, Art waved to the throngs along Hollywood, Sunset and Vine.

Asked how he liked Hollywood, he said in an interview, “I don’t see well but what I’ve seen of it so far is good.”

As a teenager, Art quit school and ran off to find work. Eventually his dad lured him home to Santa Rosa with a promise to put him through Sweet’s Business College.

He graduated in 1927 and went to work in banking, then in insurance sales, breaking to serve in World War II.

Art served on the Sebastopol City Council from 1952 to 1956.

He used to say he intended to live to age 132. He didn’t make it, but he came a lot closer than most of us will.

Though he regretted that he’d lost most of his eyesight and couldn’t walk or hear or chew too well, the man seemed to have savored each one of his nearly 40,000 days.

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THE NEW YORK TIMES just published a 98-word love story from Siena Canales, who grew up in Santa Rosa, studied at Sonoma Academy and today is a Harvard grad living, acting, modeling writing and tutoring in New York City.

Siena’s “Modern Love” tribute in the Times recalls the destruction by fire of the Santa Rosa home she’d shared with her parents, Paco Canales and Heather Furnas, and her older brother, Diego.

She wrote:

My whole hand used to fit in my mother’s palm. When I was sad and scared, she would squeeze me tight and say it’s all going to be all right. Now I’m 24. My parents lost everything in Northern California’s Tubbs Fire in October 2017. Both surgeons, they are strong and brave, but sometimes wake up at night in their temporary home with nightmares of the recent deadly fires. I can’t bring back their treasures or take away their stress, but I can tell them I love them and hold my mother’s hand like she once held mine.

Siena’s folks just now couldn’t be much more grateful or much more proud.

You can contact columnist Chris Smith at 707 521-5211 and chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com.