Capt. Janet "Jan" Louise Chatelain

Jan was born in San Mateo, CA on February 13, 1961, and passed away on June 23, 2013, in Long Beach. Jan passed away peacefully with family and friends around her supporting her and each other at this difficult time. Jan had been fighting a difficult form of lung cancer.
Jan is survived by her loving husband, James of 28 years. Jan and Jim have lived in Redondo Beach for over 25 years. Jan is also survived by her mother, Joan Ashabraner of La Habra, and sister, Susan Ashabraner of Fullerton.
Jan was a graduate of La Habra High School. She graduated from Cal State Long Beach and also attended USC and University of Texas, Austin.
Jan was an avid snow skier and water skier. She dove for her High School diving team. She also completed several 100 mile plus bicycle rides, and 13 successful solo sky dives. She and Jim were certified scuba divers. Jan had logged over 200 dives and her favorite dive sites were in the Great Barrier Reef. Her latest passion was tennis. She played singles and doubles in USTA leagues the past several years. She also played Marine League tennis in the South Bay for over 15 years.
Life for Jan always seemed like a fun adventure. Partly that was the adventurous things she did--but more so it was the adventurous spirit with which she approached everything. There was something infectious about her spirit and zest for life that was her gift to all the people in her life. She took her experience in ski patrolling at Mt. Baldy to train and test for the Fire Service. This also was her true passion in life. For over the past 13 years, Jan has been a proud member of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. She worked her way up from Firefighter and Engineer positions and for the past six years she has been a Captain. Her most recent assignment was at station 41 in Willowbrook. She was very proud to be just the 13th female Firefighter in Los Angeles County. She was honored to accept the LA County Fire Dept Over Achiever's Award in 2003.
Prior to her experience at Los Angeles County FD, she was a Firefighter for Glendale FD for two years and San Diego FD for one year.
Jan was a Peer Fitness Trainer for many years for the IAFF and went on many training assignments in the US and Canada. She also was a trainer in many LA County FD Fire Academies. Long ago in a previous lifetime, Jan was an accountant at a property management company. She was also a recreation director for a resort hotel.
The Fire Service and her family and friends have lost a role model, but we will remember her boundless optimism and enthusiasm.

A memorial honoring Jan will be held Saturday June 29th at 3:00 pm at

Green Hills Memorial Chapel
27501 S. Western Avenue
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275

In lieu of flowers, please make contributions to:
Vanguard Cancer Foundation
750 East 29th Street,
Long Beach, CA 90806


Funeral Home:
Green Hills Mortuary and Memorial Chapel
27501 S.Western Ave.
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
US 90275