Janis C. Whitcomb, 74, long-time resident of the Colton and Uniontown area in Washington, passed away Friday, Feb. 27, 2015, in Pullman. Rosary vigil service will be recited at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 5, at St. Boniface Catholic Church, Uniontown. Funeral Mass will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday, March 6, also at St. Boniface. Burial will follow at the St. Gall Catholic Cemetery in Colton.
Janis was born May 7, 1940, in Colton to Martin and Irene (Wittman) Kinzer. The family lived near Uniontown and Janis attended grade school there before graduating from the Notre Dame Academy in Colton in 1958. She enjoyed playing basketball and cheerleading in her school days.
After graduating from high school, Janis attended Morris Beauty School in Spokane and was working at Linda's Beauty Mart in Pullman when she met Loren "Bud" Whitcomb. The couple married on March 6, 1964, and made their home in Idaho for a few years before making their permanent move to Uniontown.
Janis kept busy as a mother, homemaker, bookkeeper for their business, Whitcomb Trucking, and took care of Bud throughout his illness and eventual passing in 1987. She exuded the utmost expression of strength and grace, never complaining, while always having a positive attitude and time for everyone. Janis was a friend to many, spanning all age groups, and never met a stranger. Always possessing a jovial disposition, everyone who knew Janis knows of her unmistakable laugh. She was the ultimate friendly and loving giver whether to her family, friends or her community.
As a willing leader and volunteer for almost any committee or project, she was active in the St. Boniface Parish, Catholic Daughters, Parish Council, Altar Society, City Council, various Colton School projects and events, in addition to many others. She was a familiar face in the kitchen at the Uniontown Sausage Feed and St. Boniface Parish Bazaar for a number of years.
In Janis' early adult years, she enjoyed having fun with her girlfriends and was quite the bowler throughout her life. As her life progressed, gardening, interior decorating, cooking and entertaining became areas of significant enjoyment for Janis. She was gifted in making a beautiful and cozy home. Janis absolutely loved spending time with her family and followed her grandchildren in all their activities and sports.
She is survived by her children, Rick and Barb Whitcomb of Kamiah, Idaho, Terri Druffel of Colton, Wash., Mike and Kori Whitcomb of Uniontown, Wash., Jody and Jim Moehrle of Colton, Wash., Sandy Whitcomb and Mike Cherry of Lynnwood, Wash., and Patti Whitcomb and Eric Fetterman of Portland, Ore.; 10 grandchildren, Bud, Jake, Rochelle, Courtney, Kaitlin, Sidni, Logan, Jordyn, Jaxon and Trendyn; one great-granddaughter, Lailyn; her brother, Bill Kinzer of Uniontown; and sister, Karen Kinzer of Pullman; as well as numerous nieces, nephews and friends.
In addition to her husband, Janis was preceded in death by a son-in-law, Marv Druffel, a granddaughter, Tayler Whitcomb, and her parents.
The family suggests memorial gifts be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (pancan.org) Online guest book is at www.kim ballfh.com. Kimball Funeral Home, Pullman, is in charge of the arrangements.
