Janis Patricia Wheeler

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Janis Patricia Wheeler-- a devoted wife, loving mother, and cherished friend. Janis died Friday, August 4th at Pathways Inpatient Care in Fort Collins, Colorado after a long illness. She was 71 years old. Janis was born on March 13, 1952, in Denver, Colorado to Lieutenant Colonel Edward F. Brown (USAF) of New York and Pauline Hanks of Louisiana. Janis graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Denver and studied child psychology at Scripps College and Stanford University in California. Her father was stationed at Hickam Air Force Base during WWII where he met and later married Pauline Hanks, who volunteered as a secretary on base. After the war, her father was a partner in establishing Desks Incorporated in Denver near the Auraria campus. When she was young, her father gave Janis the nickname “Babes,” by which she was known by many of her friends and family throughout her life. She is survived by her brother, David L. Brown of Brisbane, California. On July 9, 1977, Janis married David Wheeler from Sidney, Ohio. They lived for many years in Aurora, Colorado. David worked as an Advertising/Marketing Manager at Gates Corporation in Denver until he retired in 2007 to start his own media production company. They moved to the Fort Collins area in 2000. Together, they raised three remarkable children: Lacey Wheeler Kirby of Longmont, Colorado, Whitney Wheeler Gilles of Frederick, Colorado, and Jordan David Wheeler of Fort Collins. They have four beautiful grandchildren: Quinn Gilles (7), Dominic Gilles (4), Josephine Kirby (4), and Charlotte Kirby (6 months). Janis and David loved to travel and benefited from Janis’s gift of travel planning. She was an excellent cook, seamstress, and a gifted piano player. Throughout their 46 years of marriage, Janis and David were active Bible students who loved to study and talk to others about the marvelous promises for the earth under God’s kingdom arrangement. They were associated for many years with the Warren Lake Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and they benefited from the love and support of their awesome spiritual family (John 13:35). It was Janis’s firm conviction that she will see her dear loved ones again in the earthly resurrection when all suffering will be gone (Acts 24:15, Rev 21:3,4). Her husband was by her side when she passed. She will be terribly missed by her family and friends, who loved her very dearly. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made in her name to Pathways Hospice in Fort Collins whose loving care for Janis was extraordinary. Ways to Give – Pathways Care, (https://pathways-care.org/ways-to-give/).

Tributes

Janis Patricia Wheeler

March 13, 1952 - August 4, 2023