Janice Twitchell Harris

“Nana Jan”

Our sweet mother passed away on January 26, 2017. She was born September 30, 1928 to Milton and Millie Exeter Twitchell in the high mountain valley of Escalante, Utah. In 1941, her family moved to Salt Lake City where she attended East High School and later graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor’s degree in Education. She taught 4th, 5th and 6th grades at Liberty Elementary. She met Russell Clyde Harris, an attorney and a Major in the US Air Force, and they were married on November 21, 1951 in the Salt Lake LDS Temple.

Janice was an excellent secretary and exemplified honesty and integrity in her work. Through the years she worked at the Utah State Historical Society, the University of Utah Neurology and Pharmacology Departments, the LDS Visitors Center and retired after 20 years as the Executive Secretary to the Director of the LDS Utah-Salt Lake Area Seminaries and Institutes.

Janice cherished her membership in the LDS church and her opportunity to serve others. She served as President and on the Stake Boards of the LDS Church Relief Society and YWMIA organizations. She was active in PTA leadership and volunteered for nine years as one of the first Beehive House hostesses.

Mom dearly loved her husband, her five children and their descendants. Her gentle and artistic nature was evident to all. She often invited her loved ones to “look” and see the lovely cloud formations or the magnificent shadings of a landscape or sunset. Reading was one of Mom’s great joys; she especially loved learning of other eras and the contributions of her ancestors to a developing nation and a blossoming LDS church.

Janice is survived by her children Stephanie (Michael A.) Lund, Leslie (Charles J.) Boulton, Mark R. (Jeanette) Harris, Melinda (David C.) Pitcher, and Valerie Harris, 16 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, Milton and Millie, her husband, Russell, and her brothers, Blaine and Sherwood Twitchell.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, February 4, 2017 at 11:00 am at Davis Creek 2nd Ward, 1395 South 200 East, Farmington, UT 84025. Friends may call Friday evening from 6:00-7:30 pm at Wasatch Lawn Mortuary, 3401 South Highland Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84106 and Saturday morning from 9:45 to 10:45 am at Davis Creek 2nd Ward. Interment will be at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park.

Our deepest thanks to all who have known Mom and enriched her life.