Well known sheet music collector and music aficionados Janice Cleary died February 8, 2021 in Omaha, Nebraska, she was 96. She had recently donated her 50,000 plus sheet music collection to the Mississippi State University, home of the Charles Templeton Ragtime Jazz Festival. In 2015, she won the Sedalia Scott Joplin Foundation Outstanding Achievement Award. Few other than avid ragtime musicians, historians and fans were acquainted with the recipient, but sheet music collectors knew her well.
She became interested in ragtime and sheet music when her husband took her to see Irving Berlin’s 1938 movie, Alexander’s Ragtime Band. She collected Berlin’s music and then ragtime sheets after hearing “Ragtime Bob” Darch play in Omaha, and finally she branched into many other fields of music. She became a familiar figure at music festivals and concerts and scoured the country to add to her collection. Her knowledge of American music was extensive, and she was fond of telling the stories of the composers and interesting compositions. She and John were married 75 years.
