Janice Joy (Stiebs) Clarke, Waupaca, WI, passed away Tuesday, April 15, 2014 at Riverside Medical Center in Waupaca.
She was born February 15, 1944 in New London, WI, the second child of Alvin and Velma (Arndt) Stiebs. Janice was baptized into the Christian faith on March 5, 1944 at St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church in Manawa, and was conformed March 30, 1958 in this same church. Her confirmation verse was a part of Rev. 2:10. “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Janice was a faithful servant of the Lord her entire life and now has received her heavenly crown of life. On December 7, 1964 she married Thomas Clarke in Enid, OK. After five years in Oklahoma they moved to Manawa, and the last thirty-five years have lived in King and Waupaca. Janice worked as a nurse’s aide in the New London Hospital after graduating from Little Wolf High School in Manawa. She also did nurse’s aide work at St. Mary’s Hospital in Enid, OK. While living in Oklahoma she also worked as a presser in a commercial laundry and helped her husband on his Pepsi Cola delivery route. In Manawa she worked as a checker in a grocery store, and in Waupaca she packed candy for the former Bowlby Candy Co. She had also worked as an order packer for the Figi Co. in Stevens Point. When her husband and her went in to the trucking business for themselves (T & J Trucking) she did all the bookkeeping and would also travel with him all over the United States and part of Canada. Janice always went with him in the spring when he was delivering bedding plants and would help him unload the carts. Her leisure time was spent with her dogs, Rascal and Poppi, reading mysteries, sewing, gardening, and feeding the birds.
Janice was preceded in death by her husband of 48 years, Tom, who preceded her in death in July of 2013, and her parents. She is survived by three sisters, Karen Stiebs of Waupaca, Connie Brummer of Almond, and Cherie (Dennis) Shannon of Penrose, CO; a brother, Dale (Rachel) Stiebs of Waupaca; five nieces, two nephews, 13 great- nieces and nephews, and cousins.
A funeral service will be held at the Immanuel Ev. Lutheran Church in Waupaca, WI, on Monday, April 21, 2014 at noon, with the Reverend Paul Bowe, officiating. Interment will be in the Little Wolf Cemetery near Manawa. A visitation will be held at the church on Monday morning from 11:00 a.m. until noon. In lieu of flowers a memorial has been established in memory of Janice Joy Clarke. The family would like to thank all the staff at Crystal River Nursing Home and Riverside Medical Center for the care they gave our beloved sister Janice. We also want to especially thank Pastor Bowe, Pastor Fritz, and all others for their many prayers, visits, and words of comfort during the time since her brain tumor surgeries. Janice is now with our Heavenly Father which is far better. The Holly Funeral Home of Waupaca, WI assisted the family with funeral arrangements and we thank them also for their help.