Janice Wilson

Janice R. Wilson, 91, passed away at home in Julian, PA on August 18, 2026 of natural causes. She was surrounded by her children, love, music, and stories.

Janice was born to Lake and Margaret Wall in Butler, PA. She was well known for her kindness, humor, and thoughtfulness.

She loved music. As a girl, Janice played the guitar with her older brother Harlin, wearing authentic country and western outfits sewn by their mother. They performed on the radio in Reynoldsville, PA. Over the years, she loved seeing the Statler Brothers in concert with friends, and watching The Voice. In her later years, she developed a strong appreciation for John Denver. She liked to joke that she often took showers with John, as Country Roads and Rocky Mountain High played in the background. Her son-in-law Jason kept her entertained with Sunday Morning Coming Down, as well as various Johnny Cash songs.

She loved cooking. Janice was widely known as an excellent cook and baker. She and Merle maintained a productive garden and orchard at the old house on 550, resulting in a year's worth of canned vegetables and fruit. Hamburgers were a staple during Doug and Perry's little league years, and her special hot dog barbecue sauce was enjoyed by Merle's coworkers during summer picnics. Above all else, her kolache reigned supreme. Using her grandmother's recipe from Hungary, she hosted family and friends each year before Thanksgiving to make poppyseed, walnut, apricot, and other specialty rolls for the holidays. Recipients of her kolache waited all year for the opportunity to receive the rolls as gifts.

She loved art. From her mother, Janice learned to knit and sew, making clothing for her children and a beloved argyle sweater worn by Merle their entire married life. She embroidered, cross stitched, painted, and made Christmas ornaments and wreaths for all seasons. After Merle passed, she discovered coloring. Janice spent countless hours coloring cards-for holidays, birthdays, or no reason at all-for family, friends, and strangers. Everyone who helped with her care in the past year received cards from her, and we've been told they are on refrigerators and at desks throughout the region.

She loved animals. Pets over the years included a fox (Tia), dogs (GiGi, Boliver, Whitney, and Barney), cats (Momma Cat and Kitty Cat - the creative names were saved for the dogs), deer (Gimpy, Deirdre, and their many daughters), Jimmy the donkey, and the multitude of birds she fed. When they first moved to Julian, she kept track of waterfowl sightings in her bird book, and noted any new or rare song birds that came to the feeders. Hummingbird feeders proved very popular, requiring refills several times a day before the fall migration season. Despite her earlier meat-dominated cooking, she became a vegetarian in her final years, not wanting to hurt another animal.

She loved her work. From a brief stint as an administrative assistant for the head of the Geography Department at Penn State, Janice went on to become a bookkeeper for her father's Gravely tractor business in Waddle. Numbers were her thing, and she spent decades with Keystone Refrigeration and Heating until she retired in 1995. Always a people person, retirement didn't last long. She worked as a receptionist for several chiropractor offices until declining health made her stop. She continued wishing to be able to go back to work, but was unwilling to take Jo and Tess up on their offers to let her do their jobs.

She loved her friends. Janice was an excellent party host, always up for a board game or cards and ready with great food. Her card games of choice were poker (about 50 different varieties, most made up on the spot), pinochle, rummy, and Skip-Bo. She and Merle loved traveling with family and friends to various casino locations, primarily Atlantic City, but also to Las Vegas a time or two, to play the slots. They were never big winners, but that didn't stop them from feeding the one-armed bandit over the years. The pinochle group at the Centre County Senior Center was a weekly bright spot for her in recent years, and she missed going to the center after her health declined.

She loved to travel. In addition to the many trips to Atlantic City, Janice also enjoyed The Outer Banks and The Thousand Islands (even though she wasn't a fan of being IN the water, she always liked being near it). Over the years she and Merle logged quite a few travel miles, from visiting family and friends in Arizona, South Dakota, South Carolina, Florida, Rhode Island, Colorado, and Washington state, to playing tourists in Niagara Falls, Manchester (England), New York City, Chicago, Washington, DC, and too many small towns in PA to mention (all having to do with baseball).

She loved her family. Doug remembers trying to satisfy mom's sweet tooth by baking apple dumplings with her before one of their big poker nights. Perry remembers recent afternoons playing pinochle with mom and Mary Jane, trying to keep track of which version they were playing - Wilson house rules or Senior Center rules. Jo remembers mom insisting that she go with her to see the first showing of (the 20th anniversary of) Star Wars Special Edition on January 31, 1997 because "I was there with you the first time you saw it." Tess remembers mom playing catch with her as a kid and more recently making her laugh over silly, inside jokes that often made no sense. She missed Merle dearly after he passed but she continued to be a source of love and kindness to all who knew her.

We still don't know for sure why Merle called her Liz.

Janice is survived by her children: Douglas (Linda), Perry (Mary Jane), Jo (Cary), and Theresa (Jason); grandchildren Joshua, Ashley, Caitlin (Eugene), Jordan, and Nathan; and countless nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents and brother Harlin, and her beloved husband Merle.

The family wishes to thank the following, who were instrumental in Janice's care: McKenzie Cox and Bethany Long of Home Instead, Adoration Hospice (specifically Nini and Jenna), and Mary Jane Wilson.

A celebration of life will be held in the spring.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made in Janice's name to Centre Wildlife Care at www.centrewildlifecare.org

PA Simple Cremation assisted the family with arrangements.