Janice Marie Stavig passed away peacefully after a long illness at her Camano Island, WA home on Feb 1st surrounded by her children, at the age of 86. Janice was born in Hazen, ND on October 20th, 1936 to Alexander and Pearl Buchmann.
She grew up in the Bismarck area of North Dakota, where she loved being the eldest of 4 sisters. During her childhood she developed her spirit of adventure, incredible work ethic and always enjoyed learning new activities and projects. Her joy was evident in her laughter and excitement when sharing the adventurous stories of her sisters and many cousins.
She graduated from Bismarck High School in 1955. She moved to the Seattle area from North Dakota in 1958 with her two children (Vicki and Stuart) so that she could live closer to her parents. She was working at Marvel Morgan pharmacy when she met the love of her life, Dr. Darrell Stavig, in 1960. She then worked as a banking associate at the Rainier Bank branch in downtown Kirkland. Darrell and Jan married in 1962, enjoying 53 years of love, laughter and adventure together. In 1969, they welcomed a son together, Paul.
Jan and Darrell loved to travel the world, visiting 6 of the 7 continents together, sometimes bringing their children. They also enjoyed many family vacations in Hawaii, Mexico, Sun Valley, Chelan and the Oregon/Washington Coast. They enjoyed entertaining friends at their homes in Kirkland and Camano Island, hosting large (sometimes quite loud) parties during which many legendary stories were created, often dancing and laughing into the wee hours. Janice was a sophisticated, gracious hostess who immensely enjoyed planning, cooking, organizing and even handwriting party invitations using her advanced calligraphy skills.
In the late 60s, the family moved to the Totem Lake area on a 5-acre farm where they began raising and showing Arabian Horses. The horse farm (growing to more than 20 horses at one point) brought more opportunities to develop a strong work ethic for the family, while also creating many exciting adventures and new friendships as well.
Jan also took the lead on managing several rental properties that she and Darrell had acquired. She worked as the office manager for Darrell’s medical practice for several years until his retirement from medical practice in 1987. Her willingness to learn a new skill or activity was unmatched, and then she quickly excelled at it. Yet still, in spite of all these outside activities, she was always focused on being a wonderfully committed wife, mother, grandmother, sister, daughter, aunt and cousin to her family.
Jan will be remembered as an elegantly beautiful and strong woman, both inside and out. Her love of her family and her love of life’s adventures were her guiding principles throughout her life. Her generous soul was evident from the moment anyone met her.
Jan was preceded in death by her husband Darrell in 2015. Also preceding her in death were her parents, Alex and Pearl Buchmann, and two of her sisters, Patricia Shreve and Kathleen Brosy. Jan is survived by her three children, Vicki (Jon) Pusateri, Stuart (Barbara) Stavig, Paul (Wendy) Stavig; her 5 grandchildren (Tony, Jennifer, Joseph, Sophie, Brooke); her 4 great-grandchildren (Kyle, Jack, Vincent and Ava); her sister Rita (Frank) Hall; numerous nieces; nephews and many lifelong friends.
Memorial services and a celebration of Jan’s life will be held at 1pm on Saturday, April 1st at Acacia Memorial Park and Funeral Home, 14951 Bothell Way NE, Seattle, WA 98155.
The family suggests that remembrances be made to Providence Hospice of Snohomish County or to support your favorite charitable cause.
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