Dolores Janis

Dolores Mae Janis (Winans) died Sunday October 2, 2011 in Peoria, Arizona. She was surrounded by her family who shared memories of her life, love and laughter. Dolores was a devoted, hard-working, strong woman. She grew up in Joliet, Illinois, the oldest of four, making friends easily. As a young woman, she became a single parent with very little means who focused on making a good life for her four young children. Dolores worked as a lab technician for 30 years in Illinois, and then moved to the Phoenix area, working another 10 years before she fully enjoyed retirement. Dolores had a network of close friends in Illinois, her strongest bond was with the group that she did ceramics with on a weekly basis. She also met a nice group of friends in Arizona with whom she attended many fun events and trips, including the Arizona Diamondbacks! Dolores would knit as a hobby, leaving us with many wonderful sweaters, socks, and those dishrags! Dolores was very close to her sister, and she fondly remembered vacations and many visits together in Phoenix. Dolores also loved the humor and kindness of her two brothers. Dolores was preceded in death by her parents Christine (Nussbaum) and Carl Winans. She also suffered through the death of her first born son Michael (Prouty) and her best friend Helen Mannell. There are many of us who will remember her well and are so much better for sharing her life with her: her children Christine (Prouty) Richardson and husband Kevin, Lauren (Prouty) Richardson and husband Brett, and Patrick Prouty and wife Marilyn; her grandchildren Linda, Michelle, Codi, Charli, Lisa, Laurie and Jason; her great grandchildren Kaylan, Josh, Lincoln, Jackson and Aiden; her siblings, and their families, Marilyn (Winans) Meekma and husband Nick, Dick Winans and wife Peri, and Bob Winans and wife Mickey. Her daughters thank the kind people at Encore Senior Village and Hospice of the Valley for their great work and care throughout the last four years. To all, please remember our mom for the life-loving person she was…and that our time is brief and should be appreciated every day. A memorial service will be held Thursday October 6, 2011 at 6pm at Menke’s Funeral Home, 12420 N. 103rd Avenue, Sun City, AZ 85351. A funeral mass will be on Friday October 7, 2011 at 10am at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church, 9728 W. Palmeras Drive, Sun City, AZ 85373. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, or www.michaeljfox.org.