Janice V. Harpaul-Jones

Written by Xia Jones, Joaquin Jones, & Tahir Bell

My mommy was the best and she loved the beach. She was the best at cooking. Mommy was nice. She took her time. She did not rush. Most importantly, I loved mommy so much. Mommy was funny. She would make faces and noises. She always made me laugh. Mommy was really cool. She even helped me make paper airplanes. I really miss her too. Everyone does, I’m sure. She was the best mom I could ever have. She was very pretty. She was awesome. I wish mommy could spend more time with me. I want to play with her. I miss her so much. I wish mommy was here.

Mommy was the greatest mom we could ever have. Mom liked going to the beach and cooking, but most importantly, she loved spending time with family and friends. She would do anything for her loved ones. Although mom was battling cancer, she would always put others before her own needs no matter what. Mom was loving, caring, smart, powerful, and all the other qualities you could want out of a person. She always believed in me and would try to help me achieve my dreams, no matter what. Even when I spilled Gorilla Glue on the dining room table or gave all of my birthday invitations to the wrong people. I will never forget the things Mom has done for us.

Janice V. Harpaul-Jones, age forty five passed away August 12th, 2017 in the loving comfort of her family and friends in her home in Round Rock, Texas after a three year battle with breast cancer. Janice was born in St. Andrews Kingston, Jamaica on March 20th, 1972 to Joan Elizabeth Harpaul and Peter Neville Harpaul. When she was five, her parents moved to the United States in search of the American dream, settling in Morristown, New Jersey.

Janice attended and graduated from Morristown High school in 1990. She then attended and graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelors of Science, and later completed her Paralegal Certificate from Farleigh Dickinson. To further show her strength and will, Janice received her Masters in Technical Communications with honors from New Jersey Institute of Technology in 2015, while battling breast cancer.

Janice held positions as a paralegal, proposal manager, and contract manager at several companies including Cendant, Verizon Wireless, and Dell. However, her true passion, besides caring for her family and children, was cooking. She even started her own catering business, Caribbean Cart Catering, after moving to Round Rock, Texas, so that more than just family and friends could enjoy the incredible Jamaican, Indian, and Southern influenced dishes that she would put together. It was poetry in motion to see her display her culinary skills and create amazing meals, and watch them bring any family closer together. In addition to cooking, Janice had a great passion for interior design, event planning, travelling, and reggae/dancehall music.

To know Janice was to love her and marvel in her unwavering positivity and courage. A true friend, mother, daughter, sister, and wife, in every sense of the word. Janice would never hesitate to do whatever she could for her loved ones. Her sense of humor, storytelling, and infectious laugh lit up any room she entered. There was nothing she couldn’t achieve.

Janice leaves to celebrate and cherish her memory; Jamal, her husband of eleven years, her three children Xia, Joaquin, and Tahir. Additionally, she gave her unending love and support to her surrogate son, Jerhan Stevens. Janice also leaves her mother, Joan Harpaul, her brother and sister Ingrid and Peter Mark Harpaul, her niece and nephew, Bethanya and Endreyas Harpaul, her mother and father-In-Law, Miguel and Shiela Jones, sister-In-laws, Janae Jones, Yodit Molla, her dearest cousins Keysha & Michelle Beaumont, Jackie Wilson, Dahlia Irby, and a host of loving family, and wonderful friends. Janice will be dearly missed, but her incredible courage and battle, as well as her spirit, will live on through every life that she touched and will continue to guide and inspire all of those who were blessed to have known her.

“If you see me in a fight with a bear, don’t help me…Help the bear”- Janice Harpaul-Jones