Janice McKinney, 81, passed away peacefully this week in Salt Lake City surrounded by her children.
She was born on September 11th, 1938, in Aurora, Illinois, to Lillian (Roetzer) Wallers and Leo Wallers.

Following her graduation from Madonna Catholic High School for Girls, she headed west to another all-girls catholic school. But instead of the urban suburbs of Chicago, this one was smack in the middle of the vast Kansas prairie, in a place called Salina.

After a difficult childhood with an overbearing mother, Janice found Salina to be liberating. She loved its wide open spaces and its open and friendly people. And with her unique style and “flair”, the newly-liberated teenager from the big city made quite a splash.

One day in the Spring of 1956, as she was walking up the Iron Street hill, a local boy in a snazzy Chevy convertible cruised slowly by. The young townie behind the wheel was immediately smitten with the vivacious coed, but Janice played it cool. Fortunately for us, Dick McKinney was not easily swayed and, after months of chasing, he finally won her over. She left Marymount in 1958 to marry him and start a family, but returned after the birth of her first daughter, Kyle, and graduated in 1969.

She was driven to create. After getting the kids to bed she would labor late into the night in her makeshift studio at the kitchen table – in paint, wood, needlepoint, and quilts. She became the art director at Brewster Place in Topeka, organizing its famous Christmas Craft Fair and raising thousands of dollars every year for charity. She managed floral shops for Dillons and later at Poppy’s Gift Shop in Salina, where her creations were legendary.

Although witty and animated, she was not an extrovert like her husband, preferring to watch while he worked a room; a beautiful, elegant presence, reminding us of Jaqueline Kennedy.

Like Jackie O, she was stoic in the face of adversity. She battled debilitating pain and health issues for the last three decades of her life, after a botched medical procedure in the 1980s. But she remained a warm and captivating presence, making you feel like you were the most important person in the world.

Janice was devoted to her grandchildren who revered her. On a hot summer afternoon in August of 2007, nine-year-old Megan went for a ride with Grandma Janice. Upon her return she rushed back into the house with wide eyes. “Nobody has a grandma as cool as mine!” she exclaimed. “She acts cool, she dresses cool and she drives a really cool car!”

Janice was preceded in death by her beloved Dick, who passed away in 2015; her mother and father, Lillian and Leo Wallers and her sister Carol.

She is survived by her six adoring children, Kevin of Los Angeles, Kelly (Monica) of New York City, Shawn (Cindy) of Little Rock, Kyle (Erick) of Seattle, Timothy of Salt Lake City, and Heather of Kansas City; her grandchildren, Paul, Zachary, Erin, Megan, James, Olivia, Henry, Finn and Hattie; her brother, Bill Wallers (Georgia) of Aurora, Illinois; her sister-in-law Patricia Corum of Fort Collins, Colorado and Dick’s nephews, Greggory (Cheri Parr) and Jeffrey Corum of Fort Collins.

Due to coronavirus concerns, a private burial service will be held in lieu of a funeral. A memorial service honoring her life is planned for the post-covid future.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the American Stroke Foundation or Salina Animal Services.