Obituary of Janice Mabel (Sharp) Brown

Janice M. Brown passed away peacefully, surrounded by her children, on September 6, 2018 in Boise, Idaho.

Janice was born in Rock Springs, WY on December 7, 1935 to Miriam (Lawson) Seppie and John Peter Sharp. Her stepfather was Harry Seppie, whom her mother married after Janice married Ronald W. Brown. 

Janice graduated from Rock Springs High School in 1953 and was active in plays, band and cheerleading. Her young life in Rock Springs shaped her toughness, getting her through many difficulties.

Janice married Ronald Brown on January 16, 1956. They moved to Pocatello for Ron to attend Idaho State University. During these years, Janice worked while Ron attended school. When Ron was offered a job with the federal government, they moved to Idaho Falls with their two daughters. She gave birth to their son and was able to stay at home until he started school. Janice worked as an administrator within the Safety Group for EG&G, and then Lockheed, before her retirement in 1995.

Through the years, she wrote many treasured poems for family & friends. She tracked her grandchildren’s lives in poetic form and gifted each year’s poem to them on birthdays and Christmas.  In their early years, she wrote books for them, which were about themselves. She also wrote a book about her life, titled “The Way it Was”, so her children would have a history of their grandmothers’ struggles and how it was to grow up in a coal mining community.

The entire family loved to ski and camp and did so every weekend during those seasons. After retirement, Jan & Ron spent several winters in Arizona where they took in the sights and enjoyed golfing. They toured many countries around the world, cruised the Caribbean and took the family on a very special, two-week trip to Hawaii over the Christmas holidays.

Janice was blessed with three children:  Lori, Leslie & Ronald Jr., aka JR, and two beautiful grandchildren, Alexandria & Lawson Boltz, whom she loved deeply. Janice lost two babies named Sandra Lee & John James and had several miscarriages. 

She was preceded in death by her parents and grandparents, brothers Robert Lee & John Arthur; sister Miriam Ann; brothers-in-law Jack Morrow and Robert Brown and sister-in-law Garnet Brown.

She is survived by her husband, Ron; daughters Lori (Dave), Leslie (Matt) Boltz and son, JR; sisters Joyce Morrow of Evanston, WY & Noreen Sharp of Rock Springs; brother John (Sandy) Seppie of Rock Springs; her Aunt Dorothy Angelovic of Star Valley, WY; several nieces & nephews and many dear friends whom she considered family.

Services will be held on Friday, September 14, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. at Summers Funeral Home on Ustick Road in Boise.

A celebration of life will be held in Idaho Falls on Saturday, September 22, 2018 from 3 – 5 PM at the Hilton Garden Inn, 700 Lindsay Blvd.

Memories and condolences may be shared with Janice’s family on her memorial webpage at www.summersfuneral.com