When reflecting on the life of Janice Todosciuk, words such as giving,
content, and loving are the recurring melody throughout her life’s song. She
had a joy for life that was impossible to miss and a heart that beat to greatly
enrich the lives of those around her. As mothers
go, Janice was second to none, although she just
may have said that becoming a grandmother many
times over was the best part of being a mother.
Although she traveled the world over, there was
nothing of greater importance to Janice than her
unwavering faith, her precious family, and her
lifelong friends. The lives of so many will never be
the same without Janice here, but the footprints
she leaves behind will remain deeply embedded in
the sands of time for generations to come.
Life in the 1930s was anything but easy as
the Great Depression left countless Americans
without work, and to make matters worse a devastating drought blanketed
our nation’s heartland as well. Despite the trials around them, an active
family from St. Johns, Michigan, was filled with unspeakable joy to welcome
a baby girl into their hearts and home on June 2, 1935. Janice May was
the youngest of three children born to her parents, Harry Woodworth and
Jeanette Alice (Stevens) Rosekrans, and she was raised alongside her two
brothers, Carl and Keith, who were much older than she was. Her father
worked hard as a struggling farmer while her mother taught school early on.
In many ways Janice experienced a childhood that was fairly common for
the youth of her generation. She attended Marshall School, a one-room
schoolhouse during her earliest years, where she made friends with ease.
Many of these girls became Janice’s lifelong friends. Her high school years
found her at Rodney B. Wilson High School where she
excelled in her studies. It comes as no surprise that
Janice was also quite the social butterfly who
loved going to the movies with her friends. She
enjoyed her senior class trip to Washington,
D. C., chronicling much of the experience from
behind the lens of her camera. Janice also
worked some at the Salt Box Restaurant north
of town.
After graduating from high school in 1953,
Janice began working at General Telephone
where she made great friends. She used some
of her earnings to buy a brand new white 1956 Plymouth, and she also
continued to enjoy spending time with her friends.
Life was forever changed for Janice when she met the man with whom
she would write a love story that would span more than 50 years. He was
an Army buddy of her best friend’s boyfriend, and his name was Frank
Todosciuk. Janice and Frank were set up on a blind date, and from the
moment he saw her it was love at first sight for Frank. They began dating
in September and were already talking about marriage by October. A young
student in Chicago, Frank couldn’t afford to buy his sweetheart a ring at the
time, but they later picked one out. Deeply in love, they were married on
March 29, 1958, at Greenbush Methodist Church in St. Johns.
The newlyweds spent about one year living in Chicago, but they soon moved
to Janice’s hometown of St. Johns. At first Janice went back to work at GTE,
but she later became a stay at home mother to their three wonderful children:
Annette, Harry, and Andy. She was a great mother who was actively involved
in the lives of her children. Janice was always taking her kids here or there
for an adventure, and she supported them in whatever their interests were.
She served as a den mother and worked both of her sons all the way through
to becoming Eagle Scouts. Janice also seamlessly kept their home running
while Frank focused his attention on their business, Research Tool in Ovid.
Daily life in the Todosciuk home was always a bustle of activity. Janice
kept busy canning just about everything from her parents’ garden, and
her family knew they better not ever be late for dinner. When their children
were growing up Janice and Frank traveled all over the country for three
or four weeks each year with their kids camped out in the back of a
capped pick-up truck with a couch and an oil heater. As a mother Janice
was more strict with Annette than she was with her sons, but anyone
who broke the rules always got her going. She was aggressively involved
in helping her kids sell subscriptions, sometimes helping them earn great
prizes like bikes. Janice always just seemed to do
whatever needed to be done, which was a great life
lesson that her children were so thankful to have
been taught.
Although her main focus was always on
her family, Janice enjoyed so many things
throughout her life. She got into selling
Avon products, which took her all over the
area for various events. Janice was an avid
photographer who led the photography program
through the local 4-H for a time, and she
also loved spending time out in
her flower gardens and making
bouquets for her home and the
homes of many others as well. She loved to read Harlequin romance novels,
and all who knew Janice were well aware of her love for the color purple.
Whenever she was able, she cooked for local shut-ins, often her tasty
chicken soup. She was thrilled to be a grandmother, and she adored all of
her grandchildren the same whether those related to her by blood or not.
Later in life Janice and Frank purchased a place at Saddlebag Lake Resort
in Florida, and they also traveled the world during their retirement years.
Their travels took them throughout Europe, but Janice’s favorite
destinations were Alaska and Hawaii.
We will miss Janice Todosciuk for her
breathtaking flower arrangements, her
selfless acts of service to others, and her
unending love for everyone within her reach,
but most of all we will miss the way she was
there for us in whatever we needed. Her zest
for life was contagious, and her absence will
be deeply felt.
Janice Todosciuk died on January 7, 2012.
Janice’s family includes her husband, Frank; her
daughter, Annette (Rich) Snyder; sons, Harry (Linda)
Todosciuk and Andy (Sunday) Todosciuk; grandchildren,
Jena Mae (Jeffrey) Rewerts, Lurah and Jordynn Todosciuk and Andrew (AJ)
Todosciuk; Rich’s children, Sherry Snyder, Rick (Cindy) Snyder and Mike
Snyder; Sunday’s daughters, Kristin and Jamie Griffith; great-grandchildren,
Jadynn and Jackson Rewerts, Brandy Martinez, Casey Spooner, Becky and
Jake Snyder and Michael and Blake Snyder; great-great-grandchildren,
Adrian and Madilynn Martinez, Logan Forbes and Kendal Spooner; sistersin-law, Margaret and Dorothy Rosekrans and many nieces and nephews.
Along with her parents, Janice was preceded by her brothers, Carl and Keith
Rosekrans. Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, January 11,
2012 at Osgood Funeral Home in St. Johns with Pastor Keith
Whipple officiating, burial will follow at Eureka Cemetery. The
family will receive friends 2-8 p.m. Tuesday also at the funeral
home. Memorials may be expressed to Eureka Cemetery Flower
Fund or to the Eureka Christian Church. To learn more about
Janice, visit her personal webpage at www.lifestorynet.com/
memories/76931.
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