Janice B. Thoen, 62, of Rowley, wife of James J. Thoen, passed away peacefully in her home on Thursday, February 23, 2023.
Jan was born in 1961 in Des Moines, Iowa and she was raised in a family where having fun was a constant: water skiing, snow skiing, boating on the Mississippi, Expo 67, and many other trips around the country. A 1983 graduate of the University of Iowa College of Nursing and a 2005 graduate of Regis College, Jan was a nurse for thirty-eight years, the last sixteen as a Nurse Practitioner specializing in Family Practice and Diabetic Education. Prior to that, she worked in Labor and Delivery, ICU and in the Emergency Room. It can be said without contradiction that the world was a demonstrably better place with Jan in it.
Jan embraced life and will be remembered for her optimism, her candor and her zest to try anything new. She was an avid cyclist, having ridden RAGBRAI and the Pan Mass Challenge multiple times. An energetic swimmer since high school, she donned a mermaid fin in later life to join her mer-sisters. She was the helmsman of the family’s Friendship Sloop, Adagio, and enjoyed her time at the Ipswich Bay Yacht Club. Skiing with family and friends always made her smile. Tuesdays were specifically reserved for golf with her “Golf Girls” which gave way to learning Bridge and becoming the “Bridge Girls” and she thoroughly enjoyed her book club. In her life she traveled extensively visiting Paris, Prague, England, Banff, San Juan Islands, Caribbean and countless other venues. She was never more alive than when she was playing with her grandchildren.
She will be missed greatly by her husband Jim, and her son Hunter and daughter in law Nicole, her son Garrett, and her daughter Andrea and son in law Ryan Burney. Jan will greatly miss her grandchildren Constance and Atlas. She is also survived by her sisters Andrea Elms and her husband Fred of Arvada CO, Nancy Zinter and her husband Gary of Plymouth MN, Lynn Cannon and her husband Drew of Des Moines, Teresa Dayton Schmitt and her husband Tony of Urbandale IA, and her brother John Beghtol and his wife Barbara of Des Moines IA.
A Funeral Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 10 am Thursday, March 2 in Our Lady of Hope Church, 1 Pineswamp Road, Ipswich. Family and friends are cordially welcomed. Arrangements are under the direction of the Whittier-Porter Funeral Home of Ipswich. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts in her name may be made to The Dr. Merriam Research Fund for Leiomyosarcoma Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, P.O. Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284. To leave a condolence please visit whittier-porter.com
Janet Thoen
