Janis Luke Koike

Mrs. Janis Luke Koike, 82, formerly of Winter Haven, passed away Thursday, March 5, 2026 in Springfield, Va., of complications related to cancer. Born in Los Angeles, she grew up in Kansas City, Mo., before graduating from Indiana University (Bloomington) with a bachelor’s degree with high distinction in linguistics in 1965. As part of her time in college, she was also elected to the Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Lambda Delta honor societies.

She later received a master’s degree in linguistics from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), and ultimately earned a prestigious merit-based Fulbright Scholarship to continue her studies in Barcelona, Spain, where she embraced the culture and language of Catalan. She also spent a year studying in Peru.

While in Barcelona, she met and married in 1969 her husband of 45 years Dr. Masuo John “Matt” Koike, who died November 18, 2014.

In the early 1970s, Dr. and Mrs. Koike returned to the United States and lived in New York City and Los Angeles, where their daughter and son, respectively, were born. In 1979, they moved to Winter Haven, where Mrs. Koike taught at Polk Community College and took night classes in Accounting and Computer Programming. She later transitioned into a career as a systems and data processing analyst at several companies, before finishing her career at The Mosaic Company. While embracing this new career, she travelled and worked in Chicago, South America, and Canada. She loved the new adventures and learning.

She and her family were one of the first members of Temple Beth Shalom in the early 1980s in Winter Haven. She was the original religious school director, taught for many years at the Sunday school, and served on the temple’s board of directors and as president.

She had many hobbies including knitting (which she learned during summers with her grandfather in Chicago) reading, playing card games, and completing word puzzles. After her move to Florida, she loved the beach and spent many summers and weekends at the family’s condo in Ormond Beach walking, collecting shells, and enjoying the sunrises.

After retirement, she became a Polk County court advocate for at-risk children and volunteered at the Friends of Winter Haven Library Book Store.

In 2022, she moved to Springfield, Va., to be closer to her daughter and her family. She is survived by her children, Sara Abiusi (Derek) of Arlington, Va., and Michael Koike (Rebecca) of Scarsdale, N.Y., five grandchildren Alexandra, Adam, Caroline, Lauren, and Zoe, and her sister Debra Singer (Mark) of Olathe, Kan. She was preceded in death by her parents Yudell and Laverne Luke, and her sisters Molly Kaufman and Linda Gurin.

After a private burial service on Friday morning, the family will be receiving visitors Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Ott-Laughlin Funeral Home, 645 West Central Avenue, Winter Haven. In lieu of the flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the American Cancer Society.