Janet Stock died on Sunday, September 27, 2026, in Arcata, from complications of multiple sclerosis and bowel disease. She was 73. She faced her death with a very positive attitude and even joy while attended by loving and supportive friends and caregivers, demonstrating a refreshing approach to her death.

Janet was born in Logan, Utah and spent her childhood in Idaho, Washington and Michigan. She studied child psychology and social work at the University of Utah, focusing on preschool children. While at university, she discovered a passion for dance through ballet classes.

Together with her older brother, Douglas Stock, she moved to San Francisco in 1975, where she learned jazz dance and earned a second-degree brown belt in karate. She began practicing yoga in the 1980s. In San Francisco Janet first worked in fundraising, then as an office manager for medical device sales, before spending 15 years in the legal field.

In 1992, Janet began her new chapter in women’s health: pregnancy massage, acupressure and infant massage. In 1997 she helped establish the maternity massage practice at the Women’s Health Resource Center at a major San Francisco hospital – an innovative program for its time – where she would spend the next 20 years.

Janet’s travels, including China, formed a lasting impression on her. She sought to bring the influence of ancient eastern, holistic and indigenous healing methods into her work with patients, as a counterbalance to their pharmacological western care.

In 2008, Janet began splitting her time between San Francisco and her new home of Arcata, where she began incorporating techniques such as Maya abdominal massage. Alongside her private practice, she worked with Humboldt Mobile Massage, caring for seniors and for cancer patients referred to her through the Breast Health and Gynecological Project.

Janet had an active and rigorous love of nature. Her free time was often spent whale-watching and then birding, forming many lasting friendships along the way. She became a skilled nature photographer, focusing on native plants, and sold her work through a cooperative art gallery in San Francisco. She took part in many nature activities, such as the hawk watch in the Marin Headlands, forays into the Mojave Desert and Christmas bird counts. For 20 years, she made an annual backpacking trip to Snags Lake in Lassen Volcanic National Park with the Golden Gate Bird Alliance.

Janet was buried in the Trinidad Cemetery. A celebration of life potluck for Janet will take place at 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 25, 2027, at Trinidad Town Hall. In lieu of flowers please donate in honor of Janet to the Redwood Region Audubon Society (rras.org), PO Box 1054, Eureka, CA 95502 or the North Coast California Native Plant Society, P.O. Box 1067, Arcata CA 95518.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Janet Stock’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.