February 25, 1923 ~ February 13, 2019

Janet passed away of natural causes on February 13, just shy of her 96th birthday. Janet was a politician, activist, and Psychologist. Janet Helen Shipton (nee Attlee) was born in 1923, to parents Clement Richard Attlee (1883-1967) and Violet Helen Millar (1895-1964). Her father Clement, a Labour politician, served as British Prime Minister between 1945, and 1951.

Janet was educated in Stanmore, London, before being evacuated to Tintagel, Cornwall during the Second World War. Later in the war, she served as a member of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF). After the war, Shipton worked as a psychologist in Bristol. There, she met electrical engineer Harold “Shippy” Shipton (1920-2007), who was working at the nearby Burden Neurological Institute, an independent research unit specializing in the investigation and treatment of neurological, psychological, and psychiatric disorders. The couple married on November 20, 1947, in a wedding considered the society event of the year’, with a reception at Chequers and most of the post-war Labour Cabinet in attendance.

Janet and Harold immigrated to the United States in 1958, where Harold had been offered a research associate position at the University of Iowa. While living in Iowa City, Janet became increasingly involved in community politics, playing a key role in the organization of the Hoover Health Council and serving as Johnson County Supervisor in 1978. Shipton also served in leadership roles in the Iowa and Missouri League of Women Voters, the Missouri Women’s Network, and the Missouri Older Women’s League, focusing on issues of women’s health and voter registration. She is survived by her seven Grandchildren and 12 Great-grandchildren.