Janice Y. Jones

Janice Yvonne Jones, 86, died June 19, 2025 in Kansas City, Kansas. She was born in Avon, South Dakota to Bertha Frederick and Edwin Beck on July 3, 1938, and grew up on the farm. She had grit and tenacity and believed anything could be accomplished with elbow grease and determination. She graduated from Delmont High School as a state softball champion and celebrated pianist. She earned a Bachelors degree in Education and a Masters in Educational Psychology from the University of Kansas funded, in part, by the piano lessons she gave to the kids in the neighborhood. She loved everything music and enjoyed playing piano by ear, asking for requests until her last days. She matched her career with her love of children by teaching grade school, mentoring a national championship problem-solving team of gifted students, and acting as the principal of Cherokee and Flint elementary schools.

Jan married Larry Jones in Delmont, South Dakota, on March 15, 1959, and they celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary before Larry passed away in July 2023. A lifetime sports fan, Jan cheered on her Jayhawks, the Chiefs and Royals and enjoyed playing golf after retiring from an accolade-filled career. She loved the outdoors and enjoyed camping and fishing and, in addition, was an excellent seamstress and enjoyed knitting. Other than her family, Jan’s passion was gardening. She was a certified Master Gardener and a longtime member of the Shawnee Garden Club. She spent hours every spring and summer nurturing anything that would grow in her gardens – fruits, vegetables, annuals, perennials, roses and the occasional weed. Her definition of a weed was a plant that was growing somewhere you didn’t want it. She enjoyed the company of her many rescue dogs while tending to her garden beds. Her final companion, Nelly, crossed over the rainbow bridge earlier this year.

Jan was preceded in death by her parents and three of her siblings, Lianne Gunnare, Jim Beck and Chuck Beck. She is survived by her children, Renee Causey (Charlie) of Olathe, Kansas; Jonna Jones of Overland Park, Kansas; and David Jones of Bernice, Oklahoma as well as her brother, Ronald Beck.

Fellowship will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church on June 27th, 2025 at 9:00 am followed by a memorial service at 10:00 am and internment at Shawnee Mission Memorial Gardens at 11:00. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to animal rescue center Wayside Waifs or any other charity of your choice in Jan’s name.