Janice Young

Janice was the name she was stuck with, a necessary name for signing checks and stuffy legal papers. Jan was the name she used, that's who she really was—just, Jan. Later in life, one of her golfing partners aptly dubbed her Maxine after the Shoebox character. Jan loved it. The daughter of Helen Robb and Irvie Newton Cole, Jan was a gal with a quick and wicked wit, sarcastic and very funny. In spite of her acerbic quips, Jan was loyal to her friends, almost beyond measure. If she counted you as one and you told Jan you liked something she had, chances were good it would soon be yours. For reasons unknown, Jan hated to have her picture taken, but friends snapped them anyway.

During Jan's early years, the Coles regularly visited family and friends in the Los Angeles area. Edwina and Wally Westmore and children, Jim and Ann, were a second family. They introduced Jan to the Hollywood scene. She was an extra in several movies and knew many celebrities— Elizabeth Taylor, Bing Crosby, among others. The early exposure to acting gave her a lifelong interest in matters theatrical and ironically a dislike of movies. She delighted in telling people that the last movie she had seen was Hud.

Jan went to Fresno High, then on to Stevens College, and finished at Fresno State. There she met, fell in love with, married, and later divorced John Preston Young. Jan was the very proud mother of Jeffery. My son, the architect, she would brag. While studying for her teaching credential, a play for children was having problems with costumes. She along with Helen Cole pitched in. There they met fellow helper, Elizabeth Loring, mother of her professor, Dr. Janet Loring. In a way, Betty Loring adopted Jan and Jeff. She used to laugh about having two daughters named Jan. The families became neighbors and friends, threw in together, and invested in real-estate in the foothills. When the Youngs and the Lorings moved to their ranch at Millerton Lake, Jan was, of course, foreman. As an animal lover, she then had room to breed and show cockers, raise and ride Arabians, run cattle, and a boat on the lake was, of course, a necessity.

After the move, Jan continued to teach at Hoover High School where she directed many successful plays—Oklahoma, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, Annie Get Your Gun, The Crucible, H. M. S. Pinafore, and South Pacific among others. She served a term as President of the faculty. After retirement, she studied for and received an insurance license. Ever on the move, she started her own advertising business, The Show-Off Company. She believed in service and was appointed by the late Judy Andreen to the Civil Service Commission.

Jan was a fervent golfer. In her Junior League years, she played golf at Fort Washington where Dad was president. At Stevens, she had lessons from the great Patty Berg which gave her an eye for coaching others. At Brighton Crest, she was the founder of the Ladies' Club's very popular, Club to Club Tournament.

Jan succumbed after a difficult nine year battle with heart problems. In pain 24/7, she bore it and the indignities of age with courage, her irresolute humor, and ladylike dignity. She knew her illness was an end game and fought it to the end but without fear. The thing that she regretted most in those years was not being able to drive. Her passion for cars was lifelong. When Jan was two, her parents found their missing daughter standing on the seat behind the wheel of her Dad's car, pretending to drive. An excellent driver, she had many cars—old, new, and one, she quickly discovered, only went backwards. She watched the auction on TV and could identify most models. Cars, to Jan, meant freedom, going, doing, moving along. And so she has. It is hard to believe she is gone. She so deeply loved life.

She is survived by her son, Jeffery Cole Young, his wife Shelley, grandchildren— Madison and Natalie, and many friends —her second family, James E. Westmore, his wife Bonnie, and Anne Westmore Barbour and Jan's Barbour Godchildren; the other Jan; her high school Lunch Bunch; fellow teachers; former students; and golfing gals at Brighton Crest. All are grateful for the loving support Hind's Hospice gave Jan in her last struggle, with a special thanks to Dr. Yie, Brenda, and Jamila.

Love ya', Jeff

And so say we all, her many friends

(A celebration of Jan's life will be held at a later date.)

Rememberances may be made in Jan's honor to Hinds Hospice House at 1416 West Twain Avenue, Fresno, CA 93711.