The House Where Julia Lived

Photo: Joselyn on the left, Julia on the right.

The Janes family’s house at 15536 Lorel Avenue is known to those on the block as the House Where Julia Lived. The effervescent 20-year-old known for her positivity, selflessness and passion died in November 2013 after a four-year battle with cancer.

Dawn Ferralez remembers the day she first stepped inside. Instantly, the house felt like “home.” Leslie and Jeff Janes would usually leave as prospective owners toured the property. But that day, they felt compelled to stay.

Soon Dawn and husband Ray joined them in the yard.

“We meshed,” Leslie said. “When I met her, there was a connection. ... She stayed the longest, I really fell in love with her family. It reminded me of the kind of family I have. ...

“I was really choosy about who would live in that house. ... I just thought, ’I hope they buy our house.’”

The two families share more than ownership of the same home after discovering an unlikely connection between two of their young members.

Months after that first house tour, the Ferralez family bought the house. Days after the closing, their 7-year-old daughter Joselyn was bathing when she noticed what she first thought was a cyst on her leg. Doctor’s visits later revealed it was Stage 2 aggressive non-Hodgkins Burkitt’s lymphoma.

Like Julia, Joselyn would fight cancer.

‘Everyone Knew Julia’

Dawn Ferralez first heard the whispers during Joselyn’s visits to Advocate Children’s Hospital. Had they just bought a home in Oak Forest, and did she know who lived there before her family.

“Everyone at the hospital can’t stop talking about what such an amazing girl Julia was, what a wonderful family they are,” Ferralez said.

The staff at the hospital knew Julia well. As a teen the 2011 graduate of Oak Forest High School volunteered her time with children battling cancer both there and St. Jude’s.

“She loved her pool, books, school, family, friends, her teachers and especially loved children,” Leslie Janes said. “When she became sick she appreciated life in every way possible. The sun, water, her dog, birds, music, good-tasting food, walking, a shower and her own bed.”

While attending Bradley University, Julia started the first-ever college chapter of CureSearch, an international organization which supports targeted and innovative children’s cancer research with measurable results.

“If there was anybody that was meant to be the best guardian angel for Joselyn, it’s Julia,” oncologists told Dawn.

‘It’s Still Fresh’

“We dropped to our knees when we found out,” Leslie Janes said, of hearing the news about Joselyn. “My heart was breaking for her family.”

Leslie longed to connect with them but held back for fear of overstepping, until receiving a message from Dawn.

“Julia passed not even two years ago,” she said. “It’s still fresh, it’s still hard. It’s important for me to reach out to the parents, too. ... I was happy when she reached out to me.”

Like any mom would be, Dawn was frightened and confused. She pressed for answers about what’s to come during her daughter’s 13 weeks of treatment.

“It sounded like me. It was me, and I remember having those same feelings,” Janes said. “She asked me questions that a mom would ask. I can’t tell her everything that it’s going to be like, but I know she has to stay strong.”

Ray Ferralez felt a sense of peace swell over him when he learned of the powerful girl who lived in their house before his own daughter.

“I remember reading the story when she passed,” he said. “When I revisited the story ... it sent a chill through me. It was a good feeling, the kind of feeling that makes you let out a deep breath.

“I feel we have a guardian angel. ”

‘That’s Their Girl’

In the days between her diagnosis and the start of her seven-day chemo treatment, photos capture a giggling Joselyn swimming in the pool at her new home.

The photos stirred something in Leslie’s memory. Years earlier, she had floated there alongside Julia, who would often sit on the deck with a book and her therapy dog in her lap.

“It’s another sign from our daughter that lets us know she’s taking care of things,” Leslie said of seeing Joselyn where her daughter once was. “I feel that her spirit is here, and she’s directing us.”

This wasn’t the first sign that Julia is among them. Special songs play as soon as they start the car and buckle up; a baby bird that was hatching outside Julia’s bedroom has lingered outside their window, seemingly staring into their home.

“We would think that it was her spirit,” Leslie said. ”That’s why we had been afraid to leave the house. ... It was just a time in our life that we needed to move.”

Their decision ultimately brought peace to both families.

“That’s the reason we were meant to be in that house,” Dawn said. ”It was very comforting. I had goosebumps just thinking about it.”

Follow Joselyn’s journey on Facebook.

Keep up with Julia’s Legacy, a nonprofit in her memory.

A benefit for Joselyn and the Ferralez family will be held on Saturday, Sept. 26, from 5 to 9 p.m. at CC’s Grove, 8258 Kean Ave, Willow Springs. Entrance is $20 per adult, $5 for kids. Activities will include a DJ, face painting, raffles, a 50/50, split the pot, silent auction, and cash bar.