Janice Merle Arvin

It is with great sadness that the family of Janice Arvin announces her passing. Janice Merle Arvin, age 75, passed away peacefully on Monday, February 17, 2020, at UCSD Jacobs Medical Center in San Diego, California. Janice was born January 2, 1945, in Illinois, to Carmen Juanita and Merle Wesley Larry. She was a 1963 graduate of Stephen Decatur High School. She attended Greenville College and graduated in 1967. She married Jerry Arvin on August 12, 1967, in Decatur, Illinois. She continued her education and received her Master’s Degree from Butler University. Janice touched many lives during her teaching career. Her early career began at Mulberry Grove High School in Illinois. After moving to Indiana, she taught at the Indiana School for the Blind and for the Indianapolis Public Schools. In 1985, Janice and her family moved to California, where she spent the rest of her career teaching the visually impaired and then as a resource specialist in San Diego Unified School District.

Janice truly loved life and lived to the fullest through simple pleasures; spending time with her five grandchildren, chatting with friends and family, baking the best pies anyone could ever imagine, cooking homemade meals, quilting, playing games with her husband, and reading her daily devotions. She cared deeply for others and always wanted the best for everyone she met. Her greatest accomplishment was loving God with all her heart. Janice was a devoted follower of Jesus. As a young girl she started going to church with her sister Juanita. She often spoke about how she had to find different ways to get to church each Sunday, but it didn’t stop her from going. Her love of Jesus was evident in her daily life: listening to Gaither songs on Sunday mornings, teaching her children about their Heavenly Father, praying in times of sorrow, and praising Jesus in seasons of joy.

She is survived by her college sweetheart and husband of 52.5 years, Jerry Arvin; younger sister, Juanita Larry; daughter, Christy (husband David) Schneider; daughter, Allison (husband Eric) Rainey; her five beautiful grandchildren, Drew Schneider, Abby Schneider, Luke Schneider, Charlee Rainey, McKinlee Rainey; and nieces and nephews. Janice is preceded in death by her mother, Carmen Juanita Larry; brother, Carrol Larry; and sister, Joyce Lohrstorfer. A celebration of Janice’s life will be held to honor her life well-lived. More information about her service will be posted soon.

Deuteronomy 6:5 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”