Janet Epting New

Janet Epting New, 91, entered eternal rest on January 3, 2026, just two days after her husband, Ben. Married for seventy years, Janet was a woman of grace, faith, and intellect; the bedrock of her family.

Born in Savannah, GA, Janet was the daughter of the late Eugene Ludington Epting and Gladys Plunkett Epting. She was truly a “renaissance woman” with an intense love of learning and a lifelong passion for the fine arts and history. She was deeply proud of her and Ben’s heritage, authoring several family history books to gift her family with a lineage legacy.

After graduating from Savannah High School, Janet attended Florida State University on a voice scholarship. She studied Biology and was active in the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, the University Glee Club, and the unique and famed FSU Flying High Circus. While home for the holidays, she met the love of her life, Ben. They married in March 1956 and moved to Aiken for his employment at the Savannah River Site.

Primarily a homemaker, Janet was a devoted mother to her three daughters. In the early years of their upbringing, she stayed close, substitute teaching in the Aiken Schools. Later, she served the Aiken community as a Coordinator for the GED program at Aiken Technical College. Janet’s love of the arts and music was fulfilled with many lead roles in Aiken Community Theater production, and she stayed active in her community, volunteering at the Aiken Hospital and hosting alongside Ben and dear friends a long-running annual oyster roast to benefit the Aiken Cancer Society.

Janet’s greatest work on this earth was the 24-hour care she and Ben provided for their daughter, Susan, for 22 years following a tragic injury. Their unwavering love and attention allowed Susan to far exceed medical expectations. Her devotion and care for her beloved daughter, living side-by-side until Susan’s passing in 2024, is testament to Janet’s character, strength and selflessness.

Janet’s faith was her pride and joy! She often shared Lutheran history and her family’s historical contributions to the Church she so loved. She was proud of having several ministers in her family, including her brother Eugene. She could talk for hours about the families’ Lutheran connections, one of her favorites being contributions to the architecture of Newberry College in the mid-state. Janet was a long-time member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Aiken where she spent many years leading both the adult and the children’s choirs.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Ben; her daughter, Susan Cubbedge New; her son-in-law, Paul Sloan; her grandson, Benjamin L. Young; her great grandson, Jenkins S. Young; her parents; her brothers, Eugene (Clarice) Epting and Monroe Epting; and nephews Eugene Epting III and Landy New, Jr.

Janet is survived by her daughters, Laura Jeanne Williamson (Tray) of Aiken and Janet Sloan of Murrells Inlet; her grandchildren Laura Y. Johnson (Whit), Tyler J. Young (Sara), Jacob D. Sloan, and Conor J. Sloan; great-grandchildren Adeline, Whitman, and Beckett Johnson; and aunt to Caroline Epting Kemerling, Helen Lee Epting (William Richards), Steven C. New (Dee Dee), Diane New, and Jan Allee.

The family wishes to extend their heartfelt gratitude to the team of wonderful caregivers who became like family as they spent countless hours ensuring Ben and Janet’s comfort in their later years. Special thanks to Cora Jenkins Johnson (Daniel), Keja Bates, Rhaja Abney and Natasha West.

The family also extends their deepest appreciation to the caring clergy and eucharistic ministers at St. Paul Lutheran Church, who faithfully ensured Janet and Ben’s ongoing ability to fully participate in worship and community life.

A funeral Liturgy will be held at 3:30 PM on Thursday, January 15, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Aiken, SC. The Order for Committal and Interment will take place later at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, GA.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to The Citadel Brigadier Foundation (www.brigadierfoundation.com), the Dementia Society of America (www.dementiasociety.org), or the St. Paul Lutheran Church Eucharistic Homebound Ministry, 961 Trail Ridge Rd., Aiken, SC 29803.

SHELLHOUSE FUNERAL HOME, INC., 924 HAYNE AVE., AIKEN, SC