Tribute

Janice Audrey Rodgers nee McGahey was born in Riverside, California to Albert and Annie McGahey on December 31, 1930. She died on December 3, 2023, 28 days short of her 93rd birthday. This California native lived in Orange, Escondido, Anaheim, and Oceanside. In the 1960’s she worked for Rockwell International and Metropolitan Life Insurance and later in life was a massage therapist. She passed away from congestive heart failure in her home of 35 years in Oceanside. In 1988, Janice and two elder sisters, Evelyn, and Elene, moved to Pilgrim Creek Estates in Oceanside where all three passed from this life. Janice credited her saintly mother Annie for her steadfast faith in God. She was a member of the Baptist church. She was proud of her children, 5 daughters and 1 son. And she is survived by all 5 of her daughters: Terrie Lynn Mantei of Hawthorne, NV; Janene Kay Adams of Somerset, KY; Rebecca Ann Valdez of Anaheim, CA; Suzan Nixie Vaughn of San Luis Obispo, CA; and Darlene Audrey Henderson of Yuma, AZ. She is also survived by 13 grandchildren, 20 great grandchildren, and 12 great-great-grandchildren. Her son, Phillip Stephen Adams, died of pneumonia at the age of 7. Janice kept friends laughing and all enjoyed her sense of humor. Her faith, her beautiful alto singing voice, and her meticulous appearance attracted many friends and admirers. Even after she was blinded by macular degeneration, she made sure all her clothing and jewelry matched. And most of the time the daughters who attended her were truthful about whether her jewelry, clothing and underclothing matched. She was positive, often laughed out loud, was optimistic, feisty, flirtatious, funny, organized, and creative. She knew how to make a house a home with her skills at decorating, cooking, and super Q-tip cleaning. She found great fulfillment in keeping a house that she liked to show off with elegant décor and floors clean enough to eat off. And she loved to look inside other people’s houses for decorating ideas she might consider. Jan and her sisters all had animal nicknames. Hers was “Cat.” Known in later years as JanKat, she was willing to self-examine and make changes to her behavior when she agreed that it was needed. “I’m sorry,” was a phrase definitely in her vocabulary. Having been born during the Great Depression, she never wasted food or resources and she could both stretch and save a dollar. In 1946 at the age of 16, she recorded a vinyl record with two of her three sisters that sounded like the Andrew Sisters of that era. They often performed as a trio for church events. Jan was fantastic at harmonizing. Donating her body to advance medical science was what she wanted to do at her death. She liked the idea of students learning from her remains. May she rest in peace and rise in glory.

Friends & Family