Born Dec 22, 1954 in Charlottetown Hospital PEI. Youngest of 4 children born to John Wendell and Anna Ruth Rodd along with a sister Audrey and 2 brothers Gary and Harvey. She moved to Ontario when she was 2 years old. Her family moved around a lot, Janice said it was 29 times by the time she got married. Her father went by the name Wendell which means the wanderer and he lived up to that name. Janice got tired of unpacking so she once kept her packed boxes in the closet, so the next time her father told her to pack because they were moving again she opened up the closet and said she already was. He was not happy. Janice met Andrew in 1970 going to the same High School, Hill Park in Hamilton and started dating or in their time it was called going steady on Nov. 11, 1970, 54 years ago. Once on a date, the movies, while coming home on the bus Janice looked at Andrew and smiled and he asked her what she was smiling about. She said I’ll tell you someday, and what she was thinking was “Andrew I’m going to marry you.” This was about 2 years before they got engaged. Now anybody who knew Janice knew she sensed things. The two were engaged Thanksgiving Day weekend 1972 in Southampton and then married June 16, 1973 at Knox Presbyterian Church in Oakville. Five year later their first child was born, Jennifer Gail, then 2 and a half years later Valerie Christine then 16 months after that Jason Andrew. She loved the family’s Scottish roots. Janice and Andrew’s father Lewis seem to have a special bond, he was a Scot. She loved both trips to Scotland, one in 1989 and the other in 2019 with her children and their spouses. Janice was a true stay at home mom; she loved to sew and made many of her children’s clothes (Sunday best). She entertained many of their children’s friends who also just called her Mom. She knitted, sewed and crocheted many other items for friends, family and charities. The charity part continued up until she entered the hospital for the last time about 6 weeks ago. She also learned to be a professional cake decorator and again made cakes for friends and family including Andrew’s sister Linda’s wedding cake. But word got around and she did some for paying customers for which she never charged enough for. She also did some special event cakes including the large 150 anniversary cake for St. Andrew’s. Janice had a great love of music and could play a piano, keyboard and also played an Omni chord. She also loved to sing and sang for 26 years in the St. Andrew’s Church Choir until some health issues started and she couldn’t do it anymore. But that didn’t stop her, she just started other crafts. She went back to painting, started card making and continued to sketch. Lastly her greatest strength was her faith and she lived it daily through prayer, devotionals and her charity work. She had read the bible through several times over the years. She easily forgave even when it sometimes wasn’t. After the cancer diagnosis she said she wasn’t afraid to die and fought the cancer bravely. She inspired many more people than she ever knew she did and will be truly missed by her husband, children, family, friends and 8 lovely granddaughters, Destiny, Breanna, Haleigh, Seaira, Natasha, Tamara, Leah and Chloe. Visitation was scheduled from 2-4pm and 7-9pm on Tuesday, November 12, 2024 at the Graham A Giddy Funeral Home (280 St. David St. S, Fergus, ON). A funeral service was held at 11:00am on Wednesday, November 13, 2024 at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church (325 St George St W, Fergus, ON) with a reception to follow. Interment at McKee Cemetery. Donations in memory of Janice are to be directed to Groves Memorial Hospital Foundation – Oncology department or Hospice Wellington will be appreciated by the family in lieu of flowers. Visit www.grahamgiddyfh.com for Janice’s memorial.
