Janice "Jan" Lynn Gaylord

Janice (Jan) Lynn Gaylord, age 81, passed away peacefully on February 15, 2026, at her home in Atlanta surrounded by her loving family. Jan was born Janice Lynn Smith on November 27, 1944, in Independence, Missouri to Jack Everett Smith and Theresa May Lester. She married Thomas (Tom) Gaylord on June 5, 1966, in Independence, Missouri. She graduated from Northeast High School in Kansas City in 1962 where she was a member of the Theta club. She matriculated to the University of Missouri and earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1966. She was the White Rose Queen of Sigma Nu fraternity at the University of Missouri-Rolla in 1964.

Jan and Tom lived in Houston, Texas where Jan was part of the mathematics faculty at Bellaire High School. She also attended the University of Houston where she earned an M.S. degree in Education in 1969. She and Tom moved to Atlanta in 1972, where Jan taught math at Grady High School while Tom became a professor at Georgia Tech. Jan was voted STAR teacher by her students in 1977, an award sponsored by the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. She was editor of the Reflections newsletter of the Georgia Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Jan became a full-time mother to her only daughter Grace. She returned to teaching in 1993 at North Springs High School and became Chair of the Mathematics Department in 1995. She introduced an Advanced Placement Statistics course in 1997. She was recognized as a National Board-Certified Teacher in Adolescence and Young Adulthood Mathematics in 2001. She retired from teaching in 2005.

As a hobby, she raised cecropia moths and gulf fritillary butterflies and did water aerobics. Jan became President of the Georgia Tech Women’s Club in 1990. In 2002, she founded the Georgia Tech Women’s Club Scholarship for children of Georgia Tech employees. Jan was a volunteer at the Olympic Summer Games in Atlanta in 1996. Jan received the “Elsie Paris Friendship Award” from the Georgia Tech Faculty Women’s Club in 2012, an award that recognizes warmth and companionship. She and Tom have traveled worldwide each year including England, Scotland, Ireland, Russia, Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, Turkiye, Panama, Costa Rica, Canada, and more. Jan was an enthusiastic traveler always wanting to meet new people and see new places.

Jan was an incredibly loving, devoted and supporting spouse. She always put Tom, Grace and her family first. She was a model of kindness, patience, and compassion. Jan is survived by her loving husband, Tom Gaylord, daughter Grace Powers, son-in-law Richard Powers, grandchildren Maxwell and Kinsley, brothers Jack Smith Jr. and Jerome Smith (Jerry) and their families.

A memorial service will be held at 11am on Friday, March 27, 2026 at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be given in memory of Jan Gaylord in support of the Georgia Tech Faculty Women’s Club Scholarship.