Janet Brown Seehausen, the first woman to be elected mayor of Oxford, New York, died in her sleep on December 9 at the age of 95.
Born on July 25, 1921 in Deposit, New York, Janet Baird Brown was the third child of Ella Fox Baird and Charles Kimball Brown, Jr., proprietor of Brown’s Pharmacy. She grew up in a close-knit family of sisters, a brother, aunts, uncles and cousins. She graduated from Deposit High School and, with financial help from her Aunt Jane, attended Mt. Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass., graduating with a degree in economics.
She worked for a while as a junior bank executive in New York City during the early days of World War II. She resigned to volunteer for the American Red Cross, helping on troop trains that traveled to all 48 states carrying wounded soldiers to hospitals near their families. In 1947 she married Alden Arthur Mudge, Jr. and moved to Afton, NY, where he was a partner in the family feed and grain business. The couple had four children: Alice, Alden, Jared and James. Even as parents of boisterous young children, Janet and Alden managed to remain avid readers and very active in civic affairs. Janet served on the PTA, was very involved with the Episcopal Church, and in 1964, attended the Democratic Party National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
With Alden’s shocking and untimely death in 1965, Janet began taking education classes with an eye to supporting her family by teaching school. She also eventually reconnected with Paul Seehausen of Oxford, NY, who had lost his wife Bonnie the previous year. The two couples, parents of four children each, had become friends through a book discussion group. In 1966, Paul and Janet married in the backyard of her parents’ house in Deposit, and Janet and her children moved to Oxford. Janet often said that one of her most important life accomplishments was how she and Paul brought together their eight kids into one loving family.
In Oxford, Janet, along with Paul, continued to be actively involved in community affairs. She volunteered for local schools, her church, and the garden club. She served on the Four County Library System board. She devoted many hours to Planned Parenthood because she strongly believed that women in rural communities deserved good medical and reproductive health services. In the 1980s she was elected to the Village of Oxford Board of Trustees and was then elected the first woman mayor of Oxford. As mayor, she felt her greatest achievements were completing the village’s sewage treatment system and working with other civic leaders to beautify the village’s squares and parks. She became an inspiration to many of the girls of the village. As one of her younger friends wrote upon learning of her death: “She was a very wonderful special person! A true role model of what a woman in a small town could do for women and girls.”
As their nest emptied, Janet and Paul also began traveling widely. They visited Mexico, Europe, Central and South America, Japan, Turkey, and Egypt. They were among the earlier American travelers to China after that country was opened for tourism. And they visited their widely dispersed children and grandchildren.
Janet was devastated by Paul’s death in November 2003. She remained in Oxford supported by her family and many loving friends in the village until she decided she was too blind to safely drive. With her customary determination to make rational decisions about her life, she opted to move to The Hunt, an independent living residence in Nashua, NH, near three of her children and their families. She remained active and involved at The Hunt, volunteering at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center until just a few weeks before her death.
Janet was predeceased by her first husband, Alden Mudge, her second husband, Paul Seehausen, her youngest son, James B. Mudge, and her grandson, Nathaniel Bresler. She is survived by daughters – Alice Iwasa, Sylvia Szucs, Sina March, and Mary Bresler; sons – Alden Mudge III, Jared K. Mudge, and Richard Seehausen; sons in law - Sato Iwasa, Joseph Szucs, Chuttee March, and Jon Bresler; daughters in law - Mari Loria, Ann Finneran, Jill Mudge (widow of James Mudge); grandchildren - Gina Szucs Reed, Aron Szucs, Adam Szucs, Emily March, Robert March, Nina Seehausen, Ben Bresler, Elizabeth Mudge, Sam Mudge, Isabelle Mudge and Jordan and Sascha Atkins-Loria; great grandchildren - Ava Szucs, Ella Szucs, Andrew Szucs, and Oliver Reed. She is also survived by her younger sister, Nancy Cox, and many nieces and nephews. 
SERVICES: There are no visiting hours. A Memorial Service will be held at The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, 214 Main St. Nashua on Friday afternoon, Dec., 16, 2016 at 3:30 PM.  The Rev. Dr. Robert Odierna will officiate. Interment prayers and burial will be private and held at the convenience of her family. Those wishing to make a memorial contribution may donate to Oxford Memorial Library, Oxford Historical Society, or Planned Parenthood.
The DAVIS FUNERAL HOME, One Lock Street, Nashua has been placed in charge of arrangements, www.davisfuneralhomenh.com, (603) 883-3401  “ONE MEMORY LIGHTS ANOTHER”.