Obituary
Janice Kay Craig died March 26, 2021, at her home near Sandy, Oregon, of Alzheimer’s disease.
Janice was born June 8, 1942, in Portland, Oregon, to Paul and Dorothy (Chaney) Beck, and raised in Milwaukie as the third of six children. She graduated from Milwaukie Union High School, where she met her husband, Larry Lee Craig, whom she married in 1960. After their marriage, they moved to a small acreage near West Linn. Larry worked for the Portland Fire Bureau, and Janice continued her education part time while raising their family of four children, riding horses, and acting as leader of a horse 4-H club. She often joked about the fact that she took 16 years to complete her Bachelor of Science in Education degree, but she later completed her Master of Science in Education degree as well.
In 1976 Janice and Larry moved the family to a beautiful property near Sandy, and Larry built the home where they lived for the rest of their lives. In 1977 Janice began her career as a first grade teacher for the Sandy School District, where she taught for 22 years and acted for a time as president of the Sandy Elementary Teachers Association. Janice was passionate about providing her students with the very best she could offer, devoting countless hours of unpaid time, personal funds, and her whole heart to the effort. She retired in 1999 to care for Larry, who died of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2005, after 45 years of loving marriage.
Janice was the matriarch of a large and close-knit family. She hosted every holiday at her home, including huge Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations. For many years she held a wild weekly pizza night so she could see her (eventually 18) grandchildren often. She loved to go camping and boating with Larry and the grandkids every summer, and she was an avid supporter of their sports teams. She will be sadly missed by her family.
Janice is survived by her daughters Rachel (Mike) Whisner of Twin Peaks, California, Amy Craig and Jennifer Craig, both of Sandy, and her beloved son; 18 grandchildren; and 39 great-grandchildren.
An outdoor memorial gathering will be held this summer or the next, depending on COVID-19 guidelines. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Alzheimer’s Association or the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.