Obituary of Janice Elizabeth Monnett

Janice was born July 26, 1942 in Davenport Iowa. She passed away May 7 2009 in her home surrounded by loving family members. Janice married Dwayne in 1960. She is survived by her husband Dwayne, her mother Nora, sisters Charlene, Sandra and Debra. Children, Stephanie, Greg, 6 grandchildren and one great grandchild. Services will be held at Praise Covenant Church, 3501 Orchard St. Tacoma, May 14 @ 1:00 PM. A reception will be held afterwards at the University Place Recreation Hall at 27th and Grandview from 3 till 5 PM. In lieu of flowers the family request that donations be made to either the Hospice program at MultiCare Home Services, c/o MultiCare Health Foundation, 409 So. J St, Tacoma, WA. Please also note in memory of Janice Monnett. Or to your favorite charitable organization. Hospice did a magnificent job of helping Janice and the family make it through this very difficult time. Greg’s wife Nichole was a godsend as well, without her we may not have been able to provide the comfort and support that Janice needed during the week she was home. Janice Elizabeth Allen was born in Davenport Iowa to Charles and Nora Allen. Chuck was in the army and later moved out to Olympia and then Lacey. Janice lived just down the street from Dwayne and his family. As fate would have it, Janice and Dwayne met while Dwayne was working (digging a septic tank hole for a rental house that his dad owned) across the street from Janice’s home. On June 3rd 1960 Janice and Dwayne were married in Olympia. Dwayne was in the service, and was scheduled to report for duty in Alaska with the Alaska Communications System. So, on June 6th, they left Lacey in a 4 year old worn out Ford panel truck, pulling an older 1947 27 ft. trailer house through Canada toward a small town in Alaska. Dwayne was to be part of the military phone system for the community. Twelve days later they arrived in Glen Allen Alaska. They were welcomed to the post, given a spot to park the now travel worn dusty trailer house for the stay. The next morning they were given some gas from the motor pool Sgt. Buck Winger, told which direction to head to reach Fort Rich in Anchorage. “Oh yes, you will need to purchase enough food supplies for a month” they were told. Janice was a bit overwhelmed with the task ahead, however she was willing to head out and do the shopping for the month. “By the way, you need to pick up some provisions for some of the other personnel while in town” they were told. And as it was a 180 mile trip into town, “you will need to stay at Ma Swazey's guest house on Ft Rich for a night or two”. The guest house was an old military barracks with twin beds. Not wanting Ma Swazey to think that they both slept in the same bed, Janice messed up both beds. The price was right, only $2.00 per night. Many trips were made to and from Ft. Rich. Over the following 2 years. Each time it was easier to make the run and bring back just enough food and supplies to make it to the next month. The other shopping lists were easily taken care as well, and besides Janice’s list would also travel to and from Ft Rich with other residents. Janice learned how to cook for a big family while at Glen Allen. When ever there was a picnic or holiday, the married person’s were volunteered to make enough food for the dozen or so bachelors who were also at the post. “Here is 15 pounds of potatoes she was told, make salad with them” the Master Sgt would tell her. Janice made large turkey dinners as well; some times the meals were served in Janice and Dwayne’s trailer at the small table in the kitchen. Becoming a host was just part of the life in Glen Allen. The two year tour in Alaska was good for Janice and Dwayne, They become self sufficient and learned how to resolve their own problems, after all, mom was a long was away from Glen Allen, not an easy place to just up and leave. Life after Glen Allen was more complicated, living in Olympia then Lacey seemed a bit foreign for a while. Stephanie was born in 1963 in Olympia, Gregory came along in 1965. Two more mouths to feed, hundreds of diapers to wash as well as all the other duties of a wife and mom. In 1968 Janice and Dwayne moved to the Tacoma area, University Place become home for the Monnett’s. Scott Dwayne was born in 1969, however Scott had a difficult problem, as his lungs were not working correctly, and he passed away in three days. This was a very difficult time for the Monnett’s. As the children grew, Janice needed to find other activities to keep her self busy. She met the owner of a local Hallmark store while shopping. The lady was caring for her new born child while working the shop. Janice just walked up and said that the shop owner looked that she needed someone to watch her small one. A new career was born for Janice. Over the next several years Janice watched close to a hundred children, some of which were new born, and all pre school ages. Janice just loved her kids, she played with them, read stories and made it a pleasant time for them. The parents enjoyed having Janice watch their kids, as they were always happy to come to Janice’s house. Stephanie and Greg were now adults with their own lives, Stephanie moved to AZ, had three children of her own, Adrielle was born in 1984, Logan in 1986, and Ryan in 1990. Again time zoomed along; the grand kids were growing very fast. . Adrielle was now 5 years old and could travel via the airlines alone, so off to grandma’s house Adrielle went to spend a few weeks with grandma and grandpa. In 1989, Janice and Dwayne purchased a used motor home. They began making annual trips to their favorite camp ground; Kalaloch in the Olympic Natural Park. This was a beginning of a new adventure for Janice. She had done enough tent camping, so the comfort of the motor home was well appreciated. Camping at Kalaloch quickly became an annual trek for Adrielle, then Logan and later for Ryan (Bug). Grandma always looked forward to the summer when the kids would travel North and spend time with her and grandpa. These summer outings were the highlight of Janice’s life. By now, Greg was working in the communications field, followed in his dad’s steps. After a few years, Greg told his mother that he had a girl friend that he wanted to bring home for her to meet. Nichole had three kids (Alisha, Ashlyn and Cheyenne) under the age of 10, and they quickly accepted Janice as their grandmother. Greg and Nichole were married in 2004. Janice was so happy that we had more grandkids to enjoy. Nichole and the kids were a very important part of Janice’ life. Janice was a gatherer most of her life, and she continued to gather. This time it was friends. Janice and Dwayne met many of our best friends at the Kalaloch camp ground. Out on a walk with the dog, she would meet someone, soon they were good friends for life. This continued for the next 20 years. When Dwayne retired from Motorola in 1998, Janice was asked to contribute pictures to use at Dwayne’s retirement party. She was able to find several that Dwayne hoped were lost. She had a grand time at the retirement party. In 1999, Dwayne and Janice took their motor home South to the San Francisco area to work for Motorola for a week. The week kept extending on until March of 2000 rolled around. Janice had been cooped up long enough she said. She had missed Christmas at home, the little 12 inch live tree just did not do as well as the much larger one at home. Even with the motor home all decorated with lights; it was not what she wanted for Christmas. Time to head home. On the way home they stopped in Oregon at a motor home factory, to do a tour, where she fell in love with all the new coaches with much more room. Well, they soon purchased a new coach for their travel adventures. Janice did learn to drive the new coach; however she was not real comfortable with all of that coach behind the driver’s seat. Janice enjoyed several trips, the longest being to Florida to visit her aunt and uncle in Palm Bay. Then off to Iowa to visit more aunts and uncles on the way home. Motor homing and all the friends that they met was a big part of her life. Janice was an excellent cook, always making a good meal for the family or entertaining friends. She also enjoyed canning her own vegetables and jams for meals later in the year. She always gave Dwayne’s mother credit for teaching Janice to can. It was a bit overwhelming at first, however Janice learned well and enjoyed canning for many years. Janice had a good life, a bit short but she enjoyed it to the fullest. She will be remembered as well as missed by her family.