Janice Mitchell Franklin

Janice Faye Mitchell Franklin was born in Brooklyn, New York in January 1953, to David Mitchell, a commercial painter, and Emma Lane, a registered nurse. A few years later, Janice was joined by her younger brother, Stanley Mitchell. Janice fondly recalled her home in Brooklyn, where she spent hours reading comic books and eating pistachios with her lifelong best friend, Arleen Kernahan, riding her bike down “Suicide Hill” in Prospect Park, and forming the Three Musketeers (Janice, Stanley, and their cousin Pam) at her Uncle James and Aunt Ethel’s home. Janice graduated from Erasmus High School and attended Brooklyn College but left before she could receive her degree.

In the mid-1970’s Janice gave birth to her first daughter, Onika “Nikki” Williams, who she would raise with the support of her mother Emma and best friend Arleen. While building what would become a 30+ year career in the banking industry, Janice always prioritized family, surrounding Nikki with unconditional love, support, and encouragement.

With her priority on family, Janice waited to marry until she met the love of her life, Bronx native Robert Franklin. Together, they had another daughter, Janeé Franklin. In early 2000, the two NY natives and their youngest daughter left their hometown for a new adventure in Virginia Beach, VA. In 2012, they moved to Baltimore County, MD to be closer to Nikki, her husband Jeff, and Janice’s grandchildren: Merichel, Merrick, and Mireille (affectionately known as Mimi). Despite it being later in life, Janice and Robert finally became homeowners in 2013, hosting several family Christmases and even Thanksgiving Dinner one year! Janice passed away shortly before what would have been her and Robert’s 28th wedding anniversary.

Janice was known for her love of learning, sci-fi, reality television, weather forecasts, handbags, and perfume. She encouraged her daughters to get an excellent education, travel outside the U.S. if possible, and pursue their dreams. She was the ultimate helper, taking people’s ideas—from pranks to school projects--and figuring out how to execute them. She had a compassionate ear for listening, whether to stories or rants—no matter how in the wrong you were—and provided sage advice to everyone from family to younger co-workers. She preached and lived out her philosophy that the most important thing about the people in your life is not their race, color, sexuality, or religion, but how they treat you. She did not trust easily, so when she chose to call you a friend or family, you knew she had your back for life. She was very consistent, a hard worker, creative, and loved to laugh and dance. And she made sure that the people she loved knew that she loved them up until she could no longer physically speak. Janice was and is still dearly loved and missed by her friends and family

A lifelong lover of ancient history, documentaries, and reading, Janice had the time of her life when she finally got to travel to Rome, Italy in 2018 with her husband, both daughters, son-in-law, and grandkids (and got a genuine Italian leather handbag!). As she told Nikki when she was there, “I’m a person who goes to Europe now!” Unfortunately, Janice, like the rest of the world, had no idea what the coming years would bring: she beat covid, but developed an aggressive form of endometrial cancer that would ultimately take her life. After a 20-month fight, Janice passed away on Friday, November 19, 2021, at the age of 68. Janice is survived by her husband, Robert, her daughters, Onika and Janeé, her brother, Stanley, her son-in-law, Jeffrey Herman, and her grandchildren, Merichel, Merrick, and Mimi Herman.

A memorial service for Janice will be held at at Lemmon Funeral Home of Dulaney Valley Inc., 10 West Padonia Road (at york Road), Timonium, MD 21093 on Saturday, December 18, 2021 at 11:00 AM

To help keep everyone be safe the family has asked for all guest to wear a mask.