Janice Barbara Mockus

Long time resident of the Golden District, Janice Mockus passed away in the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 30th at the Golden Hospital with her daughter Kathy at her side.

Janice was born December 7th, 1936 in the United States, Milwaukee Wisconsin, and immigrated to the Donald area in 1962. She became a Canadian citizen along with her husband Stanley and two daughters Barbara and Kathy. Later they pioneered land in a remote part of the Blaeberry-Forde Station area. Here they logged and cleared the land, built a log home and shop and spent many years there.

Janice was a city girl all the way and had to learn how to share her yard and gardens with the local wildlife. She spent many years working beside Stan in many adventures; logging, sawmilling, land clearing and cultivating, to driving an 18 wheeler semi in Western Canada and being Stan’s gofer helper.

In later years they established a Christmas Tree Farm and began to travel in their motor home to western and Midwest states. After the death of Stan and their eldest daughter Barbara in 2007, Janice left the farm to live in Golden to a life of retirement. She enjoyed activities at the senior center and doing other volunteer work at the Trinity Lutheren Church. She is predeceased by her parents, her husband Stan, daughter Barbara, and brother John. She’s survived by her daughter Kathy and granddaughters Kristine and Cindy, and many many friends.

Janice had many memories and tales of her adventures in Canada and loved living here. She enjoyed teaching herself to play piano, had a love of music, reading, hunting and fishing, corresponding with distant friends she met over the years, writing short stories, painting and writing poems as well as traveling in the motorhome to Arizona and Michigan. Those who knew her knew she had a business mind, and that also was self-taught skill, as was her love of working with numbers and keeping records.

Janice’s cremated remains will be laid to rest next to her husband and daughter in the family plot in the Golden Cemetery.

Janice enjoyed being a part of the Columbia Valley Bible Fellowship and also the Rocky Mountain Alliance Church of Golden.

There will be a grave side service held Saturday, April 10th at 2:00pm at the Golden Cemetery presided over by Mike Copple of the Columbia Valley Bible Fellowship.

A big thank you to Dr. Bruce McKnight for his special care of Janice and the hard decisions he had to make for her.

Also a special thank you to the many nurses who attended to her and got to know her personally.