Janice Anne Griffin

Janice Griffin, nee Kantner, 82, passed away October 21, 2022. She was born in Decatur, IL, and graduated from Springfield High School before moving to the northwest suburbs. She raised her family in Arlington Heights and later moved to Lake in the Hills, IL.

She is survived by her daughters Sherri (Mike Psaras) Griffin, Lisa (Dave) VanScoyoc, and Patti (Joe) Miller and her much-loved grandchildren Jake (Taylor) VanScoyoc, Adam Miller, Grace VanScoyoc and Zach Miller. Loving pet parent of Toby, her beloved cat. She was preceded in death by her parents, Ralph and Genelle Kantner.

Janice was a member of the Arlington Heights Jaycees for many years, enjoyed working in hotel catering and sales before working at McHenry County College.

Janice was an avid reader, loved visiting the local library and trips to the bookstore. She had a passion for knitting, decorating, playing games and spending time with family and friends. Her grandchildren were the light of her life; she was their biggest cheerleader and attended countless events to cheer them on.

Visitation will be held Saturday, December 3rd at 10 am followed by a Celebration of Life Ceremony at 11 am at Querhammer and Flagg Funeral Home, 500 W. Terra Cotta Ave, Crystal Lake, IL.

In lieu of flowers, memorials to the Huntley Animal House Shelter, 13005 Ernesti Road, Huntley, IL 60142 are appreciated (www.animalhouseshelter.com).

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.querhammerandflagg.com.

Sherri, Lisa, and Patti's Eulogy:

Sherri, Lisa, and I wanted to share with you “our mom” and what she meant to us. But first let us give you a quick glimpse into her life story.

Our mom was born in Decatur, Illinois to Ralph and Genelle Kantner. When our grandfather re-enlisted in the Navy after the attack on Pearl Harbor, our grandmother decided to move to Detroit to support the war effort. Grandmother brought mom with to Detroit, but she quickly realized she couldn’t adequately care for my mom and brought her to live with Aunt Loise and Uncle Virgil on their farm in Newton, Illinois. Even though she only lived there a few short years, Mom was proud to tell people she grew up on a farm. After the war, the family moved back to Decatur where she lived until the family moved to Springfield her freshman year of high school. As you might imagine, moving to a new school your freshman year was difficult, but mom quickly made friends and hung out with Bev, Dee Dee and Marilyn throughout the four years of school.

She was an only child, but spent a lot of time with her cousins, family, and friends. She would tell us stories of the various antics she got into with her cousins: Terry Frischle, Larry Craw, Gary, Nancy (Gary’s wife), JB and Mark Kantner. She told us about Thanksgiving dinners with her Grandma and Grandpa Kantner. There was an upright freezer in a scarry hallway between the dining room and the kitchen. All the cousins would run past it, who knew what was in that freezer and no one wanted to find out. Family was very important to her, and her cousins held a special place in her heart.

After graduating from high school, she moved to the Chicagoland area to train to become a flight attendant. While in Chicago, she met and married our dad and began her family. After a few years of city living, our parents moved to Arlington Heights where they lived for 30 years.

When we were young, our parents became active in the Jaycees. Mom was named Jaycee Wife of the year and was the social chairman another year. This organization is where they met and created lifelong friendships. We still remember all the bridge nights and parties held at our house, where we would sit up at the top of the stairs to spy and listen in.

One of the greatest gifts from the Jaycees was the friendship she formed with Mary Jean and Bob Jarosz. Lifelong friends, our families spent many Thanksgivings together and went on various skiing trips. We had so many laughs. Thank you, Mary Jean, for always being there for mom.

Our mom wasn’t your typical suburban mom, who drove her kids around in a station wagon, as she drove a Z-28 Camaro and later a Firebird. She had a need for speed! I remember for a time being embarrassed of the cars, but as I grew older, I realized how cool the cars were to have in high school.

Our mom gave us many gifts. Some of our favorite memories are reading, playing jacks, using a yo-yo, playing go fish, gin rummy and solitaire. Mom loved to play games and was willing to play with us girls whenever she had the time. Our greatest skill in the playing game department is our ability to do a bridge when shuffling cards. We are the envy of many.

Mom was a lot of fun and had a great sense of humor. As you might imagine, there was a lot of laughter at our house. We can remember watching movies like a Christmas Story, Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Elf and laughing until we cried.

She was also a good confidant. From the time we were young, we could tell our mom anything. During junior high and high school, if we had any problems, we could talk them through with our mom.

She was always our biggest supporter and let us know how proud of us she was. She taught us to be strong, independent women. We remember when Helen Reddy’s song “I am Woman” came out, Mom made us learn the words. It was to become our theme song. It was important to Mom that the three of us graduate from college and have careers. We’ve all been successful, and a lot of the credit goes to our parents.

She loved music, decorating, antiquing, and of course shopping. We spent countless hours with my mom shopping for clothes and furniture and those are memories we will cherish forever. She was the world’s best speller, except when it came to playing boggle, because she made up her own words and claimed them to be real …when we knew they weren’t.

Our most exciting news to share with mom was telling her that she was going to be a Grandma. This was one of her biggest joys in life. It was amazing for us to watch her form such special and unique bonds with each of her grandchildren and make them feel so loved. Mom was so proud of her grandkids. She loved to do the Grandma brag. She thought everyone in Crystal Lake knew Jake and Grace, and everyone in Huntley knew Adam and Zach, and would ask everyone she met. Regardless if they did or not, she would still share their stories.

What is now so difficult is not being able to pick up the phone to call her. We spoke to our mom almost every day. It was sometimes just a quick update or just to get her advice. We called her for her input on most everything from clothing to furniture to our kids to our dogs.

This holiday season is going to be especially hard on all of us. Christmas time was always a special time with our mom, and we had traditions that will dearly be missed. She would come to Lisa’s house every year to decorate the tree, listen to music and share stories and laughs over dinner. We would all spend Christmas Eve together, either in our matching pajamas, or ugly sweaters, playing silly reindeer games. I’m thankful that my boys got to spend every Christmas day with their Grandma. This last Christmas she had such fun buying all of us Christmas gnomes that reflected each of our personalities. She spent weeks searching for just the right ones. We all had such fun unwrapping those gifts and you can imagine the laughter when we each saw our special gnome.

Truly, there are so many things that we are going to miss about our mom: being able to hold her hand; listening to her laugh; hearing her excitement every time we passed (and I mean every time we passed) a cow, horse, deer, or any wildlife when driving; and seeing her flying around the corner in her car into our driveway and blaring the horn to announce her arrival. Those are just a few examples of the little things that now will be cherished memories.

We were lucky we were able to be with our mom when she passed, and for that we are very grateful. She was in hospice at Journey Care and one of their traditions is to play a favorite song after a loved one has passed. For those that knew my mom, Elvis truly was The King so ‘I Did It My Way’ was a fitting choice for a song – as that is how she lived her life!

At the end of the day, our family stood out in the parking lot not knowing what to do so Lisa and Sherri suggested that we go out to eat and be together. We selected Moretti’s in Barrington as my mom enjoyed eating there. We all sat down and noticed a young man setting up on a small stage not far from our table. I didn’t even know they had live entertainment but that night, a young man came out with his black hair and black suit and… you guessed it, he sang Elvis songs the entire meal. We took this as a sign from our mom that she was with us in spirit.

We loved our mom dearly. I love you, Mom or as Lisa would say - My love never ends.

We would like to end with a poem called I Miss You Mom

I Miss You Mom Poem

I thought of you with love today,

But that is nothing new.

I thought about you yesterday,

And days before that too.

I think of you in silence,

I often speak your name.

All I have are memories,

And your picture in a frame.

Your memory is my keepsake,

With which I’ll never part.

God has you in his keeping,

I have you in my heart.

Jake's letter to Grandma:

Grandma,

I just want to say that I love you so much and miss you already. While I wish we had more time together, I am grateful for the time we did have. You always made me feel special and so loved. You were there for me throughout all stages of my life. Whether it be birthday’s, Christmases, or taking me to the movies and ending the night at Steak and Shake with a big bowl of Chili and a milkshake. You were there for all my sporting events and were always my biggest fan. You supported me in everything I did and always wanted the best for me. I remember when I first started talking to Taylor my senior year of high school. It was early in the relationship, not yet ready for family introductions. I was playing in a basketball game, and I found out later that Grandma had seen Taylor in the bathroom, she introduced herself and gave her a huge hug. I was so embarrassed at the time, but I know it was because she cared so much. These past few years she always told me she wanted to be there for my wedding. I’m glad that we finally got to share that experience this last July. I’ll never forget all the memories we shared. I love you Grandma.

Jake

Adam's letter to Grandma Janie:

Grandma Janie,

I wish I did not have to write this letter and I could have told you how much you meant to me before you left. There is no doubt that your laughter, jokes, and loving personality will be missed at family parties. I always told you I loved you, but I never shared how thankful I was to have you by myside as I grew into the person I am today. The way you carried yourself showed me that things will always turn out alright as long as you keep moving forward, have a positive attitude, and stay close to family.

In order to keep moving forward and to always have a positive attitude, a person must have a sense of humor and not take life too seriously. There is no doubt in my mind that our family has a very strange sense of humor, and it got you, Grace, Zach, and I in a lot of trouble. Most of the time we didn’t have to say what we were thinking; we would see a stranger do something weird, all make eye contact, and start bursting out laughing. If it wasn’t a stranger doing something weird….then we were probably laughing at Zach.

Another reason I loved spending time with you was because we were able to poke fun of one another and not take life too seriously. I was always nervous when we went out to dinner to get steak because I never knew if that steak was going to be sent back to the kitchen to be cooked for a little longer. Anytime food was sent back there was no doubt that I was giving you a hard time. I only wish I could see you and another steak being sent back one more time.

Lastly, in order to keep family close, much effort has to be put in. You were always by my side whether it was for a boy scout event, lacrosse game, or some type of graduation. I failed on my part and should have called more often to check in and to see how you were doing. The last time I saw you is one of my favorite memories of us because I think it represents our relationship well. I came to see you in hospital and made sure to bring some flowers (which is an important part in just a moment). After we caught up, you kept telling me how cute and kind the nurses are. Well one particularly cute nurse walked in and handed me a cup to put the flowers in and you just gave a great big smile, and I knew exactly what you were thinking. Well, the flowers were too long for the cup, so I cut the stems in order for them to fit in the cup and as I turned to throw the cut stems into the trash I hit my head on this shelf. The nurse turned and asked if I was okay, being extremely embarrassed I said “oh it was just my foot banging into the trashcan” which I though was a smooth recovery. I found out later that day that Grandma Janie ratted me out the moment I stepped out of the room.

I miss you very much and it’s never goodbye, just see you later.

Adam

Gertie's letter:

Jan,

I wish I didn’t have to write this. I wish this was all a bad dream that I could wake up from or that I could talk to you just one last time to tell you how much you mean to me. You were my world and my rock during my darkest moments. You believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself; you taught me to love myself and to enjoy every little moment life has to offer, and most importantly you loved me unconditionally.

I remember in elementary school we were asked to pick one person who we considered to be our hero and I chose you. A hero is defined as “a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities”. You embodied a person of integrity, bravery, and loyalty that I admire deeply. You always told me that “the world is your oyster so go chase your dreams”. I know that if you could have given me the world, you would have. You were, and will always be, my hero.

I’ll never forget the hundreds of sleepovers that we had. Those were definitely some of my favorite memories together. We would order pizza or go to Steak n’ Shake, watch movies, color, play games, gossip (which was definitely one of our favorite things to do), make root beer floats, and most of all we would laugh like no other. I can’t recall a time where we didn’t laugh when we were together; we did get in trouble a few times by my mom for laughing at times we shouldn’t have been laughing but we just couldn’t help it. I specifically remember the time we went to Michigan for one of Jake’s baseball tournaments and we were playing Boggle in the hotel room, and we got to laughing at something that I can’t quite remember, but they were deep belly laughs that made us cry (the best kind). I laughed so hard that we had to go run out and get an inhaler because I could barely breathe. But I got to say, laughing was definitely one of my favorite things to do with you.

I will cherish the countless trips we took to Barnes and Noble to peruse through all the new books or pick out our calendars for the new year. Sitting in the café with our hot chocolate and cookies was always the highlight of those trips. It was a time for us to catch up (maybe gossip a little) and share funny stories with one another.

I always knew I could tell you any and everything and you would never judge me. You were my biggest supporter and #1 fan. The one who believed I could change the world. You never doubted my abilities to do anything.

But that’s just who you were. Your grandchildren were your whole world, and you were ours.

I can’t put into words how much I miss you. I wish I could say “I love you” just one more time. You were not only my grandma, but my best friend.

Not a day goes by where I don’t think about you. I will do everything I can to make you proud. I love and miss you more than you know but, I find peace and comfort knowing I now have the best guardian angel watching over me. I love you.

-Gertie

Conclusion:

Thank you all for coming and for your support. Everyone is invited to a luncheon at Lisa and Dave’s house, just down the road not more than five minutes away. Their address and directions are up front by the guest book. Please join us as we continue to celebrate and toast my Mom.

As we are leaving, we are going to play a song that my mom always asked Adam to sing at her funeral. Please listen to Take Me Home, Country Roads by John Denver. Join in on the chorus if you feel comfortable, my mom would love it.

Thanks.

Take Me Home, Country Roads

John Denver

Almost heaven, West Virginia

Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River

Life is old there, older than the trees

Younger than the mountains, growin' like a breeze

Country roads, take me home

To the place I belong

West Virginia, Mountain Mama

Take me home, country roads

All my memories gather 'round her

Miner's lady, straner to blue water

Dark and dusty, painted on the sky

Misty taste of moonshine, teardrops in my eyes

Country roads, take me home

To the place I belong

West Virginia, Mountain Mama

Take me home, country roads

I hear her voice, in the mornin' hour she calls me

Radio reminds me of my home far away

Drivin' down the road, I get a feelin'

That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday

Country roads, take me home

To the place I belong

West Virginia, Mountain Mama

Take me home, country roads, everybody sing

Country roads, take me home

To the place I belong

West Virginia, Mountain Mama

Take me home, country roads

Take me home down country roads

Take me home down country roads