Janet M. (Mathews) Tinker

Janet M. Tinker, 92, of Liverpool, passed away peacefully on August 12, 2025. She was born in Syracuse on September 18, 1932, daughter of the late Celestino Mathews and Anna Marie Mathews. She grew up in Syracuse and attended the Central Technical High School in Syracuse. On September 26, 1953, she married Earl J. Tinker, Jr., and was a loving and devoted wife for the 67 years of their marriage. Earl lovingly and accurately called her “Chief”. She was employed by AT&T as a telephone operator for over twenty years at a time when phones had cords and dials and “collect” phone calls required the intervention and expertise of an operator. She knew some college kids calling home collect by name! She was a life-long parishioner at St. Daniel’s Parish where she attended mass every weekend and kept the priests in chocolate chip cookies. She was a loving and supportive daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She instinctively multi-tasked at a head-spinning tempo before employers gave it a name and put it on an employee evaluation checklist. She enjoyed cooking and baking and could produce a delicious dinner for a large crowd in the blink of an eye. But it wasn’t quantity that set her cooking apart. She added one ingredient to every meal and cookie that you can’t find in any store, her love. She put her love into preparing meals and baking cookies for family and friends and the result was nourishment that can’t be replicated. Her “Italian” cookies were legendary and were the centerpiece of many wedding and special celebration dessert tables. Chili bubbling on her stove, as you returned home from school on a cold CNY winter day warmed your body and your heart. Her fresh baked (how did she get the timing so perfect) chocolate chip cookies, the chips still partially liquid, with a glass of cold milk (or a cold beer), was a religious experience for some. I bet she’s still making chocolate chip cookies with love in heaven. She enjoyed playing cards (pinnacle) regularly with her life-long friends and neighbors, Patrick and Mary Fiorenza. She partnered with Mary, and they battled Earl and Patrick at the card table. Janet and Mary even let them win once in a while! Earl and Janet had the foresight to build a cottage on the sandy beach shore of Lake Ontario lovingly called “Camp”, where children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and family and friends experienced joy and laughter, sumptuous Camp meals lovingly prepared by Janet and her 3 daughters, and deep discussion late into the night around the beach bonfire, with an occasional kick-ball game thrown in for the benefit of the adults - I mean the grandchildren. The grandchildren even let grandpa win once in a while. She is predeceased by her husband, Earl J. Tinker, Jr. in 2021; her brothers: Celestino J. Mathews, Jr., Alfred Mathews, Richard Mathews, Michael Mathews, and Jack Mathews; her sisters: Anne Huff, Ruth Melfi, and Grace Piano; her brother-in-law, Frank Dlugolenski; nephew, Francis Dlugolenski, and life-long friends and neighbors, Patrick and Mary Fiorenza. Janet is survived by her four children: David E. Tinker (Rebecca), Denise T. Miller (Thomas), Mary Beth Togni (James), and Sheila T. Reichert (Joseph); grandchildren: Jeffrey and Jennifer Tinker, Jessica Rossetti, Stephanie Barlow, Zachary Miller, David and Lianna Kendig, Jacob and Alexandra Reichert; great-grandchildren: Ella and Hayden Rossetti, Ava and Finn Barlow, Brody and Gavin Miller; sister, Charlotte Dlugolenski and brother, Charles Mathews; and many nieces and nephews, including Diane Mantooth (Dlugolenski) and her son Danny who elevated playing pitch with Earl and Janet to an Olympic Sport. A Funeral Mass in celebration of Janet’s life will be held on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, at 9:30am in St. Daniel’s Church, 3004 Court St., Syracuse, NY. Burial will follow in Assumption Cemetery. Family and friends may call from 4 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, at the THOMAS J. PIRRO JR. FUNERAL HOME, 3401 Vickery Road (Corner of Buckley Road) North Syracuse, NY. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, Central New York Chapter, 5015 Campuswood Dr Suite 102, East Syracuse, NY 13057 or visit www.alz.org/centralnewyork.

Janet M. (Mathews) Tinker

September 18, 1932 - August 12, 2025