Helen Janet (Drone) Zilch

Helen J. “Janet” (Drone) Zilch, 73, Colrain, Mass. formerly of Shawneetown, Ill., died Wednesday, November 1, 2017 at Baystate Hospital in Springfield, Mass. from complications due to lung cancer. She leaves behind her husband, John Michael, her daughters, Dawn Bafford and her husband Jeff, Victoria Wember and her husband Paul, her sons, John and Stephen, and grandchildren Daniel, Alyssa, Michael, Abigail, Nathaniel, Josh and Heather. Sisters, Kathryn (Kay) Barrow and her predeceased husband John, Wanda (Rosie) Hayes and her husband James, Virginia (Jennie) Fromm and her husband James, Carol (C.J.) Adams and her husband Kevin, and many nieces and nephews whom she loved very much. Janet was born on December 25, 1943 in Shawneetown, Ill., she was the daughter of Leo E. and Mary Jane (Walters) Drone who were both from Shawneetown. She grew up in a large loving family with four sisters and one brother, the late Leo E. Jr. and wife Marietta “Mary” Drone. Janet was educated in St. Vincent Academy in Morganfield, Ky and Tri State Beauty School in Evansville, Ind. She worked as a beautician for 25 years and as a loving and dedicated mother for 51 years. She married her lifelong sweetheart John Michael Zilch on February 1, 1964, they recently celebrated 53 years of marriage. Together they raised their four children in the Chicago area before moving to Colrain, Mass. in 2000 in order to provide care for their autistic son, whom she loved unconditionally. She was an avid gardener who loved to spend hours tending to her flowers, hummingbirds and native birds. She cherished her friends and family and was active in her church, Blessed Sacrament in Greenfield Mass. Visitation and Funeral will be held at St. Kateri Catholic Church in Ridgway, Ill. Visitation will be on Monday, November 6th from 9 a.m. until Funeral Mass time of 11 a.m., with Monsignor Joseph Lawler officiating. Mass will be followed by burial at St. Joseph Cemetery near Equality. Please join the family to celebrate Janet’s life at the reception with food and refreshments at St. Kateri Catholic Church following the burial. The Vickery Funeral Chapel of Ridgway have been entrusted with the arrangements. For further information, directions, sign a guest book, or forward a condolence message to Janet’s family please visit: www.vickeryfuneralchapel.com .