Janice K. Andes Obituary
Janice loved the Christmas season. She was always ready to decorate and celebrate—rejoicing in the magical gifts she created for the people she loved. She often stayed up too late on Christmas Eve to wrap presents, even after her children were grown. One year, she and her husband John were stuck in a hotel for the holidays, so she brought the festive nature to their little borrowed space. While maneuvering her way through the increased progression of her Alzheimer's and dementia, Janice was ready for Christmas all year, "It's going to be Christmas soon," she would exclaim even though it was February or June. Her giving nature embraced the holiday spirit with joy and excitement.
This year Janice will be celebrating Christmas as one of our angels. She passed away peacefully on December 17, 2024, surrounded by her loved ones.
Janice was born to Joe and Fran Kelly on May 22, 1945, in San Bernardino, California. At the time, her father Joe was stationed with the Air Force. Janice was the oldest of five siblings. She grew up in a lively Irish-Italian household in the Kamm's Corners neighborhood of Cleveland.
Her father had a long battle with multiple sclerosis, succumbing to the disease while the children were relatively young. Throughout this difficult time, Janice was a mentor and support to her younger siblings. She grew a deep level of caring and empathy that manifested throughout her life and became the loving foundation of her career, marriage, parenting, and grandparenting.
After graduating from St. Joseph's Academy, she attended John Carroll University. She would have graduated with the first class that included women but their extensive restrictions on female students contributed to her decision to transfer to Cleveland State University her senior year. Janice never let anybody, or anything, hold her back.
During her senior year, she met her soul mate, John Andes. He likes to explain that he found Janice sitting on the couch in his living room one day. His roommate had invited her to join a meeting for philosophy majors. They quickly began a deep and devoted love story marked by choiceful and intentional commitment to one another. It led to a marriage that would last an eternity. They had the joy of sharing it together in body and spirit for 53 years.
Janice earned her BA in Philosophy from Cleveland State University. She then volunteered in various pre-schools and decided to get her Montessori certification. Two years into their marriage, John and Janice moved overseas to London so she could complete her training at the Montessori Training Organisation. They lived in a single room in a shared building. Their year abroad created countless experiences that would provide stories and laughter to share throughout their lifetime together. Later in life she returned to Cleveland State University to earn her MA in Early Childhood Education.
Janice followed her passion and her heart throughout her career. She offered her expertise not only to the children she taught but also to the educators and schools surrounding them. She served as a consultant to South Suburban Montessori when they began their toddler program. She also launched the Lakewood YMCA preschool program, which flourished for many years. Janice ultimately brought her Montessori training home where she hosted an intimate learning environment in her basement.
She took her passion and care for children to a different level, working for Bellflower Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse. She created and implemented programs for children and educators to teach them about recognizing, reporting, and preventing abuse. She even wrote a small book to be used in classroom programs designed to help children know what to do when faced with a threatening situation. She took her extensive knowledge and expertise in Early Childhood Education and Child Development and shared it with countless students as a professor at Cuyahoga Community College.
In her later years, Janice turned to energy-healing work. She traveled to Colorado every two months for two years to receive extensive training in Biodynamic Cranial Sacral Therapy. She became extraordinarily attuned to energy and its workings and was very effective with hands-on healing.
Janice's positive energy left a lasting impact on those she touched; both through her hands-on energy work and her kind and supportive presence. She focused on the joy in life and did her best to share it with others. She loved to dance and travel. She was very proud of her childhood accomplishments in Irish Dance. She loved attending the dance performances that featured her granddaughter, Lyanna. She rejoiced in the merriment of holiday celebrations. And she thoroughly enjoyed any opportunity to experience live music. Throughout her four-year battle with dementia and Alzheimer's, she would always respond to music, sharing a smile and a bob of her head when dance was no longer an option. She never lost track of the people she loved. Janice's strength, resilience, and passion for life carried through to her final days.
Janice K. Andes (nee Kelly), age 79, will be lovingly remembered by her beloved husband, John, her children David (Victoria) and Danielle Andes. She is also survived by her cherished grandchildren, Lyanna Payton and Adeline Andes; siblings Margie Carroll (Jim), Jim Kelly (Ruth), Maureen McCauley (Tom); countless nieces, nephews, and their children. She is preceded in death by her brother Dan (Michele).
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made in her name to the following organizations that had a deep impact on her life: Cleveland Metroparks at https://www.clevelandmetroparks.com.
Carolyn L. Farrell Foundation at https://farrellfoundation.org. Beck Center for the Arts at https://beckcenter.my.salesforce-sites.com.
A Celebration of Life will be held in late January / early February. Details to be updated soon.
