It is with great sadness that we announce that Jann Louise Castleberry passed away peacefully at her home in Kirkland on Oct. 2, 2025, surrounded by her family after a 4-year battle with ALS.
She was born Jan. 19, 1948, in Grays Harbor, Washington, to Louis (Bud) and Esther Alexander. Jann grew up in Hoquiam, Washington with older brothers Martin (Buddy) and Les and graduated from Hoquiam High School in 1966. She met and married her husband of 58 years Joe Castleberry after graduation and moved to the Seattle area soon after to start their family. Jann had two sons, John and Jeff and was very involved in their activities such as baseball, soccer and football, church youth groups and Interlake High School PTA in Bellevue where she served as President for 3 years. They lived primarily on the Eastside of Seattle in Kirkland, Redmond and Bellevue and later lived in Belfair, Washington and most recently in Surprise, Arizona.
She started a career in real estate at Century 21 Real Estate in Kirkland, Washington and spent time working for Windermere Real Estate over the next 3 decades in the profession. Jann was also actively involved in supporting downtown Kirkland businesses (KDA) and the commercial real estate investments they had in Kirkland.
Jann loved to travel and had many family vacations to Hawaii, Lake Chelan and boating in the San Juan Islands and was also able to visit Israel with her church twice. Jann’s special place was the cabin at Lake Quinault where she could cook, garden and work on her book “Trails and Trials of the Olympic Peninsula.” Hearing her whistling around the cabin or her home will be greatly missed by her friends and family.
Jann’s faith was very important to her, and she was actively involved at Overlake Christian Church in Kirkland, Christ the Rock Church in Port Orchard and Christ’s Church of the Valley (CCV) in Surprise Arizona. She was also part of a Bible study group with her friends at Lake Quinault. Her faith inspired those who knew her and supported her reputation as a “Goer and a Doer” like her mom Esther. She deeply enriched the lives that knew her.
The family would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to the staff at UW Medical Hospital and Evergreen Hospice in Kirkland for their compassionate care of Jann during her time with ALS. She is survived by her husband Joe Castleberry, her son Jeff and her son John and his family (wife) Peggy, (granddaughter) Lanie Kinzer (Issaquah) and (grandson) Peter Castleberry all residing in Washington.
A memorial service will be held Saturday Nov. 8, 2025, at 11 a.m. located at Christ the Rock Church in Port Orchard, Washington. 4100 SW Old Clifton Rd., Port Orchard, WA 98367. A time of sharing memories for friends and family will follow. Please take a moment to share your memories and condolences for the family at www.fernhillfuneral.com.
Arrangements are entrusted to Twibell’s Fern Hill Funeral Home in Aberdeen, Washington.
