Jan Fillmore

Jan FillmoreJan Fillmore is a native Ohioan, but she grew up in New Jersey, where she learned to love tennis, the beach, New York City and the music of Bruce Springsteen.

She graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University with a major in journalism and a minor in Russian studies, and earned a master's degree in journalism from Indiana University. For 25 years, Jan was a newspaper journalist in Indiana and Ohio.

Jan has been a United Methodist for most of her life. She became a member of MUMC in 1990.

Her life changed when she visited Russia in 1994. A friend asked her to travel with a team that evaluated orphanages. What the group found was appalling. Many of the facilities had no heat. Often, there was one shower for 200 children and only a few working toilets. Windows were broken, and the floors, walls and ceilings had gaping holes. Food was minimal, and medical care nonexistent, except for emergencies.

For five years, Jan spent her vacations in Russia, working as a drama coach at a summer camp for teens. As a result of her experiences, Jan heard God’s call for her life, and she entered the Methodist Theological School in Ohio, graduating in May 2007 with a master of divinity degree.

Jan enjoys traveling, and has visited nearly all of the 50 states. She also has served on mission or fact-finding teams to the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Appalachia. In the community, she is a longtime volunteer for Hospice of the Western Reserve.

At Mayfield, Jan is involved in preaching, teaching, pastoral care and missions work.

She lives with her rescue pets, Gil the gray feline and Puck the border collie, on a quiet, tree-lined street in Lyndhurst.