Family and friends are planning a public memorial service to
honor the memory of Janie Aguillon, owner of Janie’s Herb Attic,
who was killed in an automobile accident Wednesday.
Family and friends are planning a public memorial service to honor the memory of Janie Aguillon, owner of Janie’s Herb Attic, who was killed in an automobile accident Wednesday.
“She will definitely, definitely be missed in this community, but most especially by her husband Norman, her sons David and Derrek and her grandson Tsy,” said Valonia Tucker, a friend and employee.
Aguillon, 49, died from injuries she suffered in an 8:30 a.m. accident at the intersection of Carpenteria and San Juan roads, the California Highway Patrol said. Aguillon, who was wearing a seat belt, was pronounced dead at the scene, the Monterey County Coroner’s Office said.
Aguillon, an Aromas resident, was a strong believer in the healing and curative powers of herbs and was well respected for her commitment to the community.
“It’s a major loss. She really touched a lot of people and was very active in the church choir,” Tucker said.
The memorial service will be held at 7 p.m. May 22 at the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 2121 Sunnyslope Road, and will include memories about her life and contributions as a businesswoman, educator and a leading local authority on herbal healing.
Nancy McDowell, Aguillon’s best friend for more than 20 years, said Aguillon’s interest in the church choir was only natural for someone as musically talented as Aguillon.
“She was very musical. She could play the piano, the guitar and was in the choir,” McDowell said.
Aguillon, a graduate of Pacific Union University, studied biology and began her career as an elementary school teacher.
“She was very smart and probably could have done anything she set her mind too,” McDowell said.
Aguillon began working with herbs in the mid 1980s and increased her knowledge through more formal study over the years, becoming an herbologist and earning a degree as a nature pathic doctor.
McDowell said Aguillon was very close to her family and held a deep personal religious belief.
“First and foremost, her passion was her relationship with God,” she said. “On the back of her business card she has a a quote that says: ‘If we meet and you forget me, you’ve lost nothing, but if we meet and you have forgotten Jesus Christ, then you have lost everything.'”
McDowell said Aguillon’s faith and positive attitude was apparent in everything she did.
“Her first store was in a basement, but she called it Janie’s Herb Attic,” McDowell said.
The accident occurred when Aguillon, who was driving southbound on Carpenteria Road in a 2001 Chevrolet Sebring, stopped at the intersection at San Juan Road. After waiting for traffic to clear to make a left turn onto San Juan Road, a westbound 1988 Toyota pickup, driven by an unidentified 46-year-old Hollister man, struck Aguillon’s Sebring on the driver’s side, the CHP said.
The driver of the pickup was taken to Watsonville Community Hospital where he was treated for minor injuries and later released. The accident is still under investigation, the CHP said.
