Janice M. Kingsbury, 91, a longtime resident of Warren, passed away in the comfort of her family at the Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin on Saturday evening, May 12, 2012. Born in Warren on November 20, 1920, she was the daughter of the late Frank and Grace (Kennedy) Lovett. On May 26, 1938, she married Elwin R. Kingsbury in Montpelier. Elwin predeceased Janice on October 27, 2005.
Janice attended schools in Waitsfield and Warren. At the age of 17 she and Elwin married and were busy and happy raising their family and working together on the family farm. In 1952, they moved to Warren where Elwin joined his son Bryan in operating Kingsbury’s Service Station and Janice was well known throughout the Mad River Valley as an exceptional seamstress. Following their retirement, Janice and Elwin enjoyed wintering in Florida.
A lifetime member of the Order of the Eastern Star, she served from 1946 to 1989 with Morning Star Chapter #23 of Waitsfield and then since with Queen Esther Chapter #7 of Waterbury. In her leisure time, she enjoyed vegetable and flower gardening, canning and crocheting. Janice was a member of the Warren United Church.
Her family fondly remembers Janice for her love of music, performing locally playing the organ, harmonica and accordion; her keen sense of humor and quick wit, writing poems and jokes; and her love for her family and spending time with her grandchildren, particularly playing games.
Janice is survived by a daughter, Joan Andrews of Waterbury; eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren; her son-in-law, Eugene Grandfield of Moretown; her daughter-in-law, Vicky Kingsbury of Waitsfield; her former daughter-in-law, Pat Rice of Bakersfield, CA; a special niece, Patricia Kelly of Newport News, VA; as well as extended family. Janice is predeceased by her daughter, Judith Grandfield, two sons, Bryan Kingsbury and Robert Kingsbury, and two great-great-grandchildren, Jasper and Jackson Winters.
Memorial services will be held from the Warren United Church on May 22, 2012, at 11 a.m. with a reception to follow in the church dining room. Inurnment will take place in the Irasville Cemetery in Waitsfield. The family requests that flowers be omitted; rather memorial gifts would be appreciated to the Squier House, 26 Union Street, Waterbury, VT 05676. To send online condolences, www.perkinsparker.com and Facebook.
Assisting the family is the Perkins-Parker Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Waterbury.