Janice Lynn (Slifkoff) Massey

Mom was born on July 4th, 1953 in Delano, CA to William and Mary Slifkoff. The youngest of four children, she was raised in Delano and attended Cecil Avenue and graduated from Delano High School in 1971.

She married David Massey and in June 1971 welcomed her first daughter Mignon, followed by Magin (Masha) in June 1972. She spent the next two years as a military spouse at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. After our births, her sole focus became her family and she immersed herself in motherhood. From school to extra-curricular activities Mom volunteered, chauffeured, supported and loved us while quietly battling health issues. She did this all with immense grace and gave us a safe and loving home.

As we became older, Mom decided to go back to school to become a teacher. This would be challenging as she was now a single mother with two teenage daughters and a full time job. With grit and determination, Mom enrolled in Bakersfield College in 1989, graduated from Cal State Bakersfield in 1993 with a Bachelor degree in Liberal Studies and started her career in education with Delano Union School District in 1996. She was strict but kind to all of her students. In her own words, “I enjoy working with children of all ages. I want to make a difference in their thinking for the future. I want to give them every advantage for an education so they can be and do whatever they want too.” She was committed to these words until her retirement in 2013.

While our Mom was the best mother, she took grandmother to a whole other level. After her retirement she devoted her time to being the biggest cheerleader for her grandchildren. She was front and center at sporting events and school performances and would let everyone know who her grandkids were. She was extremely proud of each of them and her love for them multiplied when they gave her great-grandbabies. She enjoyed having babies to hold, birthdays to celebrate and minds to mentor. She looked forward to our annual pumpkin patch trips, Easter egg hunts, and gingerbread house decorating. Anytime her family was together, she was happy.

Mom loved anything that had to do with cooking. She watched the Food Channel, subscribed to the Food Network magazine and purchased every kitchen tool known to man to hone her skills. She would plan days in advance on what she would make and then talk about it, shop for it, and talk about it some more until you were eating whatever it was. There was always food at her house and you would always get a “to-go” package.

Mom had a busy social life. Through the years she was involved in numerous school activities such as PTA and room mother in addition to Blue Bird leader and Bobby Sox team manager. She served on the board of Delano Harvest Holidays and was a member of Delta Theta Tau Sorority. She was a St. Francis CCD instructor and Eucharistic minister.

Welcoming mom with open arms are her parents, Bill and Mary and her two brothers, Jerry and Johnny.

Left to cherish her memory are daughters, Mignon (John) Marlow and Magin (Masha) Massey; grandchildren, Christopher (Holly) Massey, Zachary (Ashley) Bonkosky, Mariah (Tony) Morales, and Makayla Mejia; great-grandbabies, Zayden, Luc, Mykael, Parker, Elizabeth, Carter, Knox, Brooks and Kya; sister, Judy Bagdanoff; best friend, Charlene Bonita; and David Massey who was there in the end.

Graveside services are scheduled Saturday, October 7, 2023 at 11am at North Kern Cemetery – 627 Austin St, Delano, CA 93215. Celebration of Life immediately following at the Marlow residence.

Serving as pallbearers are Tony Morales, Christopher Massey, Zachary Bonkosky, John Marlow, Joshua Wyrick and Jordan Wyrick.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.delanomortuary.com for the Massey family. Services entrusted to Funeraria Del Angel Delano, a Dignity Memorial provider.