Janet Richards McAliley September 23, 2022
Miami, Florida - Janet Richards McAliley was born on January 29, 1934 and died on September 23, 2022, at the age of 88.
Born in New York during the Great Depression, Janet’s first home in Miami, at age two, was a tent on Biscayne Boulevard. Despite her humble beginnings, Janet excelled in school and when she graduated at the top of her class from Miami Jackson High, she was both Florida’s Extemporaneous Speaking champion and the school’s reining Poinciana Princess. Janet met Thomas McAliley during freshman orientation at the University of Florida, where she later graduated. Their loving marriage lasted 37 years.
Janet’s experience of poverty, and her gratitude for the opportunities given her by public schools and our democracy, inspired her to dedicate her life to public service.
Janet was elected to the Miami-Dade County School Board four times, starting in 1980, and served as its Chair for some of her sixteen years on the Board. Her years in elected office were preceded and followed by decades of activism and board appointments in and to numerous city, county, charitable and political organizations where she championed equal justice and the strengthening of our democratic values and institutions.
Beginning in the 1950s Janet passionately championed racial equality and the desegregation of education. She was an early feminist who fought for equal opportunity for women and for their right to control their own reproductive health. Janet inspired and mentored many women who sought public leadership positions.
Janet knew that high quality public education is the gateway to equal opportunity and thus the backbone of our democracy, and she gave tirelessly of herself in its defense and improvement. Janet fought to end discrimination against gays and lesbians. She was a passionate advocate for environmental protection and for opportunities for immigrants. Janet enthusiastically joined the founding board of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, which later became Americans for Immigrant Justice. For twenty years, until her death, Janet was an active AIJ board member.
In addition to her activism and advocacy, Janet always generously shared her personal resources with those in need. She will be deeply missed by so many.
Janet is survived by her children, Chris, Kevin, and Neal; and her grandchildren Ben and Daniel Kleiman, and Jackson and Ava McAliley. Her husband Tom preceded her in death in 1994. Her later life partner, Dr. Robert Katims, preceded her in death in 2015.
The immediate family will return Janet’s body to the earth, by green burial at the Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery in Gainesville, Florida, on October 7, 2022.
A celebration of Janet’s extraordinary life will be held on Sunday October 9, 2022, at 2:00 pm at the Plymouth Congregational Church, 3400 Devon Road, Coconut Grove, Florida. In lieu of flowers, Janet’s family would be grateful for contributions to these causes that Janet championed: Americans for Immigrant Justice, aijustice. org, Women’s Emergency Network, wen-online.org or the American Civil Liberties Union, aclu.org.