Janice Watson

Jan began her first teaching position in 1959 in the Cherry Hill School District, Wayne County, Michigan, where she taught elementary art. She undertook her first of many adventures by teaching for a Department of Defense School from 1962 to 1965 on the Johnson Air Force in Sayama, Japan, just north of Tokyo. Jan returned to Cherry Hill where she continued to teach elementary art until moving up to the high school. There she taught art history, art appreciation and continued with her creative art courses. Cherry Hill merged with Wayne-Westland and Jan taught at John Glenn High School until her retirement in 1995. She built a home on Minneapolis Avenue when she moved back to Gladstone to rejoin her family and be closer to her parents and her aunt, Gene Watson. She also loved spending time with her nieces and nephews, helping them with art projects and working with their children as time passed.

During her years of teaching, Jan won several awards. She received two commendations during her time in Japan: aCivilian Award from the Department of Defense, Pacific Command, and an award for creative teaching at Johnson AirForce Base. She was also named “Art Teacher of the Year” by the Michigan Art Education Association in 1977.

Jan was a member for fifty-nine years of the Michigan chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, a sorority founded to recognize and promote women’s leadership in education. She served in several offices and on numerous committees over the years. Jan served as President of the local DKG chapter for two terms and as both Second and First Vice President of DKG and chaired five committees at the state level. Jan received the DKG Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.

She was also a member of the William Bonifas Art Center where she chaired the Summer Art Festival for several years. Jan belonged to The Coterie book club, the Gladstone Women’s Club and sang in the Memorial United Methodist Church Choir. She loved playing bridge and played in several local groups. She spent her winters in Ruskin, Florida after retirement and loved teaching art classes for her neighbors and friends there and hosting her relatives who visited the area.

Jan’s journey to Japan ignited a desire for world travel that lasted for many years. While in Japan, she also visited South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, India and Nepal. Her voyages there led to extensive travel in Europe and the Mediterranean including a trip to Germany with her mother to visit Ule Froebe, an exchange student who lived with the Watson’s in 1967-1968 and attended Gladstone High School. Jan’s favorite places to visit over the years were Greece, the Aegean Islands and Egypt.

Jan is survived by her sisters Marianne Milkowski, Roberta (David) Johnson, and Judy (Bill Olson) Watson-Olson; brother John (Bonnie) Watson; sister-in-law Kristy Watson; nieces and nephews Chris (Lisa) Sutter, Jeff Sutter, Mark (Kate) Johnson, Krista (Tom) Hampton, Susan (Adam) Fisher, Ben (Heather) Watson, Dan (Kelly) Watson, Lindsay Watson, Tomoko Inoue, and Naoko Inoue; as well as 21 great nieces and nephews.

Jan was preceded in death by her parents; aunt Genevieve Watson; brother Tom Watson; brother-in-law John Milkowski; nephew John Sutter; and niece Shari (Sutter) Nye.

Jan’s family would like to thank the wonderful staff of Lakeview Assisted Living as well as the second floor nurses and doctors of OSF St. Francis Hospital for their wonderful care of Janice, especially in the last few weeks of her life.

Family will receive friends on Saturday, August 9, 2025 from 11 AM to 12 PM at the Memorial United Methodist Church in Gladstone. Funeral services will begin at 12 PM with Pastor Terri Branstrom officiating. A luncheon will follow in the church hall. For more information or to leave online condolences, please visit www.skradskifuneralhomes.com. The Skradski Family Funeral Homes of Delta County are assisting the Watson family.

Memorials in Jan’s name can be made to the Memorial United Methodist Church or the Bonifas Arts Association.