Janice K. Slavens

Janice K. Slavens, 74, of Fort Wayne, passed away Monday, January 9, 2017. Born Oct. 19, 1942 in Detroit, Michigan, she was the youngest of the three daughters of Everett and Lorene (Sheets) Rider.

Janice was raised in Delphi, Indiana. As a young girl, she enjoyed going fishing with her dad and spending time at her grandparents home in Colburn where she had a pet lamb. While visiting there, she often would swing on the front porch with her grandma and sing hymns and watching the trains pass by. By the time she was attending Delphi High School, she was part of the Girls Athletic Association where she was active in a variety of sports and also was a cheerleader. While in school, she would meet her true love and would spend the rest of her life with him. After graduating with the Class of 1960, Janice married Dean Slavens on May 27, 1960.

While they lived near Chicago, Illinois and her daughters were in school, Janice worked in the wedding department at Carson Pirie Scott in the Randhurst Mall. After the family settled into the Ft. Wayne area, she worked in the personnel departments at Parkview Hospital and J.C. Penney when Glenbrook Mall first opened up and had been a dispatcher with Renners Express Trucking. She also worked at North Side High School as a secretary to the Assistant Principle and retired in 2007 as the Athletic Secretary at Homestead High School.

She was very supportive of her husband being a track and cross country coach and made many lasting relationships with fellow athletes at the schools. Janice enjoyed needle point, crocheting and making afghans for her family and friends, reading James Patterson novels and had been a member of the American Womens Business Association.

Survivors include her husband of 56 years, Dean Slavens; daughters, Tammy (Bill Glover) Runyan, of Venice, Fla. and Sonya (Brian) Emerick, of Columbia City; granddaughter, Tia Runyan; grandsons, Brent (Liza) Emerick, Bradley (Ashley) Emerick and Eric Emerick; great-grandchildren, Elliana, Britain and Lachlan; and an extension of many track and cross country athletic family members.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Everett and Lorene; and two sisters, Joanne Treece and Phyllis Jean Jennings.

A memorial service will be 10 a.m., Friday, January 13, 2017 at Emmanuel Community Church, 12222 West Jefferson Boulevard (US 24), Fort Wayne with Pastor Bob Bruce officiating. A memorial visitation will also be held at the church from 3-7 p.m. on Thursday. Memorial donations may be made in her memory to either North Side Track Field or Homestead Track Field. Arrangements with DeMoney-Grimes, a Life Story Funeral Home, 600 Countryside Dr., Columbia City. Visit www.demoneygrimes.com to send her family condolences on-line.