Janice Murray Ayers

Janice Murray Ayers, 72, passed away peacefully on Friday, July 19, 2019, surrounded by her daughter and closest family. Born Janice Marie Murray on August 15, 1946 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the first of four Murray sisters. Jan was a loyal friend, a good student, and a popular cheerleader at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School. Jan embraced being a college student at Michigan State University in the 1960s, and never stopped being a Spartan supporter and lover of all things MSU. Go Green! She started her career as a teacher in the Lansing public school system. She later returned to school, earning her master’s degree in Accounting and later became an accountant for the State of Michigan, where she later retired.

Jan enjoyed spending time with her family and friends. She was a very hard worker during the week, but was known to spend an hour or two at Beggars Banquet or later with “the choir” at the Peanut Barrel. She was an open-hearted, kind and generous woman who was never very good at small talk, until the day her grandson was born. Her Grandma brag book was never far from her hands, and she took on the role passionately.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Capt. Henry Murray of the Ann Arbor Police Department and her beloved mother Maxine Murray; her sisters, Myra Piepenbrink and Cheryl Spears; and her second husband, Randy Ayers.

She will be lovingly remembered by her daughter, Sara (Chuck) Grigsby; her grandson and light of her world, Xander Grigsby; her sister, Lynn Lumbard; her first husband, Francis Guldbrandsen; her nieces and nephews, along with a huge group of friends in the East Lansing community.

In accordance with her final wishes, memorial services will be private at this time, but a Celebration of Life will be held at a future date.

In honor of Jan, memorial contributions may be made to Planned Parenthood at

https://www.plannedparenthood.org/ or her beloved WKAR | Public Media from Michigan State University https://www.wkar.org/