Janice Marie Smith-Walz, age 70, formerly of Fayette, Missouri, entered eternal rest in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, from Small Cell Neuroendocrine Carcinoma Cancer.
Janice was born on January 13, 1953, to Edward Wayne Smith and Teresa Marie (Milcek) Smith in Enid, Oklahoma. When she was three years old, the family relocated to Denver, Colorado. She was a 1971 graduate of George Washington High School and a 1973 graduate of the Colorado College of Medical and Dental Assistants. She married and had three children.
Janice relocated to Atchison, Kansas in 2004 where she worked for Benedictine College. She met the love of her life, Michael A. Walz in 2009. Upon his retirement in 2018, they bought a farm in Fayette, MO where they lived happily until his death in 2021. Janice decided to move closer to her daughters in South Carolina, where she resided until her death.
Janice was preceded in death by her loving husband, Michael A. Walz and both parents, Wayne and Teresa Smith.
She is survived by her two daughters, Nicole Rebuck (Kirk) and Anna Wettlaufer (Doug), two brothers Paul Smith (Kris) and Dennis Smith (Betsy), grandchildren Jillian Rebuck, Kinslie Rebuck, Callan Rebuck, and Hendrix Hummel and several nieces and nephews.
A celebration of life for Janice will be held Monday, November 13, 2023 at 11:00 AM at Mt Moriah, Newcomer & Freeman Funeral Home, 10507 Holmes Road, Kansas City, Missouri 64131. The family will receive guests beginning at 10:00am. Following the service, there will be the graveside service followed by a celebration luncheon.
In lieu of flowers the family asked that donations be made in Janice’s name to Lungevity: Transforming Lung Cancer- www.lungevity.org, Lung Cancer Research Foundation-www.lungcancerresearchfoundation.org; Lung Cancer Foundation of America-lcfamerica.org; and National Coalition Against Domestic Violence-ncadv.org.
