Martha Jane "Jan" (Tullis) Wetherholt

Born December 8, 1933 in Detroit, Michigan.  Passed January 7, 2016 in the care of Ohio Health Hospice at Riverside Methodist Hospital, Columbus, Ohio.

Jan grew up in Athens, Ohio, with her mother, Gracia Louise Kerr Tullis, her grandparents, Cassius Clay Kerr and Mary Margaret Kerr, and her sister, Ellen Louise Tullis (Jones).

She graduated from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, with a minor in Education.

She married C. Gene Wetherholt in 1955.  They had four daughters, Sara Kerr Wetherholt (Brubaker), Ellen Leigh Wetherholt (Abell), Valerie Gene Wetherholt (Thomas), and Kristin Jan Wetherholt, all of whom survive her.  Nicole Jean Spangler, Kelsey Renee Kerr, and James Wetherholt Brubaker, grandchildren, also survive her.

Jan found her perfect job outside the home late in life and became the Art Therapist (ATR) for 19 years at The Ohio State University Hospitals’ Neuro-Psychiatric Unit, at what was then Upham Hall. She was well-respected by her peers, including physicians, for her capacity to help diagnose and treat psychiatric illnesses via the analysis and interpretation of patients’ art in medical rounds and Grand Rounds.

She retired from her role as an Art Therapist in order to stay home with Gene, who passed away in 2005 from complications of Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy-Body Dementia. Jan moved back to Gallipolis, Ohio in 2006, where she lived until her death from complications precipitated by deterioration from Multiple System Atrophy, her last weeks and passing having taken place at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Family members were with her while in the care of the Ohio Health Hospice team, whose care for both her and the entire family was a true blessing.

She was an inspiration to her family, and her gentle spirit touched everyone she knew and met.  She was a beautiful person. She is now with Gene and other loved ones who have passed before her.  Jan and Gene will be forever missed, and memories of them will be treasured and cherished.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations be directed to the French Art Colony, where Jan and Gene were founding members, for a memorial bench; to Ohio Health Hospice, for use in assisting families of patients with their basic needs (laundry, etc.); or for the Ohio Health Art Therapy program at Riverside Methodist Hospital for Hospice patients and/or their families.

Visiting hours will be held at the McCoy-Moore Funeral Home, Wetherholt Chapel, 420 First Avenue, Gallipolis, Ohio on January 21, 2016, from 5-7pm.

Condolences may be sent to www.mccoymoore.com