Janice Burkhart

Janice Burkhart, 91, of Ames, Iowa passed away on Wednesday, December 25, 2019 at the Green Hills Retirement Community. A private graveside burial with the family was held at the Iowa State University Cemetery. A visitation with the family will be held on Saturday, January 25, 2020 from 12 - 3 p.m. at the Green Hills Retirement Community in Ames, located at 2205 Green Hills Drive.

Janice was born on November 11, 1928 to Burton and Clara (Numbers) Bayles in Madison, Wisconsin. She was raised in the Washington D.C. area and graduated from high school in 1946. Janice went on to obtain her Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry from Kansas State University where she met her future husband Lawrence Burkhart. After college she worked for Dow Chemical. Janice and Lawrence were united in marriage in 1951. Upon the completion of Lawrence’s service in the Air Force in 1954 they moved to Ames, Iowa, where he was a graduate student in Chemical Engineering at Iowa State University.

Lawrence joined the faculty at Iowa State and they remained in Ames to raise their family. Janice stayed at home to raise their three children, Kenneth, Karen, and Kevin, then returned to the workforce in the Circulation Department at the ISU Library until her retirement. Janice and Lawrence were founding and longtime active members of Northminster Presbyterian Church in Ames. She remained active in the community in her later years, volunteering for Meals on Wheels, serving on the board of Riverside Nursing Home, acting as a deacon in the church, and attending adult education courses at ISU. She especially enjoyed gardening and tending to the beautiful flowers in her yard. Above all, her true passion was being an important part in the lives of her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

Cherishing her memory are her three children: son, Kenneth (Tressa Wilcox) Burkhart of Atlantic, Iowa and their children, Katie, Kristen, and Abby; daughter, Karen (Gary) Guetzko of Dubuque, Iowa and their children, Megan, Lauren, and Nate; son, Kevin (Susan) Burkhart of Memphis, Tennessee and their children, Ben and Allie; great-grandchildren, Harriet, Samuel, Joseph, Jacob, and Little Doug; and a brother, Norman Bayles. Janice was preceded in death by her husband Lawrence in 1989, and her brother, Robert Bayles.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to: The Lawrence E. Burkhart Memorial Scholarship Fund (0519022), Iowa State University Foundation, P.O. Box 868, Ames, Iowa, 50010-0868. Memories and expressions of sympathy for the Burkhart Family may be shared at www.StevensMemorialChapel.com.