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In Memory Of
Janice Mellinger Linn
1933
2026
Janice Mellinger Linn
Jun 1, 1933 — Sep 5, 2026
Fort Collins
Listen to Obituary
Janice Mellinger Linn
(June 1, 1933 –September 5, 2026)
Janice Mellinger Linn (93), of Springfield, OH, and Croton, NY, passed peacefully in her sleep, having spent the last decade of her life living near family in Fort Collins, CO.
Jan, one of five daughters of Janice (née) Kauffman and Flenner Mellinger, was raised on the family farm in Ohio, and was grounded by her roots there. Janny, as her family calls her, attended Possum Elementary School outside of Springfield where she took up both piano and flute. An award-winning seamstress and active in 4-H, Janny also showed steers with her sisters Ann, Rachel, Judy, and Becky, at the county fair. Their father discouraged the competition, judged by the reaction of the crying sisters when the steers went to market.
Janny’s father ensured that all his daughters were college educated, a rarity in the 1950s. She chose to pursue home economics and proudly graduated from Iowa State University. She began her career as Food Editor for the Cincinnati Enquirer which included a press trip to Madrid, Spain, where she stomped grapes.
As a young mother of two boys Louis and Flenner, she lived in remote Greece, reporting back stories of a family’s life abroad, when few travelled with kids to lesser developed nations. Along with her third child, Rachel Elizabeth (Libby), the family moved to Croton-on-Hudson, NY, where Jan developed her career in PR, specifically in specialty foods while at then-called Burson-Marsteller.
Always welcoming, curious, and kind, Jan for many years tolerated a “bar” in the basement of her home, a.k.a. “Clancey’s,” that became a refuge for many of her children’s friends—a place to gather and sometimes live. She regularly traveled back to the farm in Ohio, instilling a love for the land with her children. Even in her later years, she continued to return to the farm to gather with family and friends over wonderful home-cooked meals.
Lifelong friend, C.S. Stivers of Ripley, Ohio, reflected, “She was a great cook; a talented, wonderful person, and inspiration.”
Jan’s daughter Libby remembers her mother as innovative and funny. She wonders “Who else would introduce me to the writings of Nora Ephron and bestow me a copy of Teenage Romance or How to Die of Embarrassment, during high school?”
Jan was preceded in death by her four sisters and her son Flenner. Granny Janny is survived by her son Louis of Fort Collins, CO, daughter Rachel Libby of Rochester, New York, and granddaughters, Anastasia, Nika, Chloe, Shattie, and Pearl.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Dementia Society of America. A celebration of life will take place in Rochester, New York TBA.
(June 1, 1933 –September 5, 2026)
Janice Mellinger Linn (93), of Springfield, OH, and Croton, NY, passed peacefully in her sleep, having spent the last decade of her life living near family in Fort Collins, CO.
Jan, one of five daughters of Janice (née) Kauffman and Flenner Mellinger, was raised on the family farm in Ohio, and was grounded by her roots there. Janny, as her family calls her, attended Possum Elementary School outside of Springfield where she took up both piano and flute. An award-winning seamstress and active in 4-H, Janny also showed steers with her sisters Ann, Rachel, Judy, and Becky, at the county fair. Their father discouraged the competition, judged by the reaction of the crying sisters when the steers went to market.
Janny’s father ensured that all his daughters were college educated, a rarity in the 1950s. She chose to pursue home economics and proudly graduated from Iowa State University. She began her career as Food Editor for the Cincinnati Enquirer which included a press trip to Madrid, Spain, where she stomped grapes.
As a young mother of two boys Louis and Flenner, she lived in remote Greece, reporting back stories of a family’s life abroad, when few travelled with kids to lesser developed nations. Along with her third child, Rachel Elizabeth (Libby), the family moved to Croton-on-Hudson, NY, where Jan developed her career in PR, specifically in specialty foods while at then-called Burson-Marsteller.
Always welcoming, curious, and kind, Jan for many years tolerated a “bar” in the basement of her home, a.k.a. “Clancey’s,” that became a refuge for many of her children’s friends—a place to gather and sometimes live. She regularly traveled back to the farm in Ohio, instilling a love for the land with her children. Even in her later years, she continued to return to the farm to gather with family and friends over wonderful home-cooked meals.
Lifelong friend, C.S. Stivers of Ripley, Ohio, reflected, “She was a great cook; a talented, wonderful person, and inspiration.”
Jan’s daughter Libby remembers her mother as innovative and funny. She wonders “Who else would introduce me to the writings of Nora Ephron and bestow me a copy of Teenage Romance or How to Die of Embarrassment, during high school?”
Jan was preceded in death by her four sisters and her son Flenner. Granny Janny is survived by her son Louis of Fort Collins, CO, daughter Rachel Libby of Rochester, New York, and granddaughters, Anastasia, Nika, Chloe, Shattie, and Pearl.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Dementia Society of America. A celebration of life will take place in Rochester, New York TBA.
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