Janice Thornton
- Published: November 22, 2023
Janice Elaine Thornton, aka “Gigi,” passed away peacefully in her sleep at home in the early morning of Sunday, Nov. 5. She spent her last days surrounded by her family
Jan was born Oct. 10, 1941, in Akron, Ohio, to William and Marie (Combs) Mattingly, and was a 1959 graduate of Akron Kenmore High School. She and her husband moved from Akron to Grand Blanc, Michigan, then to Kendall, Florida, where she worked at the Miami Dade Kendall campus library. They moved back to Ohio, residing in Oakwood, in the Dayton area, from 1978–2019. She was employed as the administrative assistant to the director of the University of Dayton law library for nearly a decade. She moved to Yellow Springs in 2019 to live with her daughter and caregiver Maria.
Jan is survived by her sister Paula and husband, Rick Neale, of Canal Fulton, Ohio; her three children, Matthew C. Thornton, Miriam C. Thornton and Maria E. Thornton Parker; son-in-law Jack Parker; four grandchildren, Maiya Thornton Hodge, Connor Thornton, Kataryn Ortiz Thornton and Jerico Ortiz Thornton; and great-granddaughter, Xyila.
She was preceded in passing by her parents, Marie (Combs) Baranchik and step-father, Paul Baranchik; sister Linda Cross; and husband, Carl L. Thornton.
Jan was a faithful believer. She loved family, baseball, music, cooking, gardening, music and art. She was very intelligent and could usually answer the final Jeopardy question, even up to her last days on earth. A small ceremony and celebration of her life will take place at the Woodland Cemetery Mausoleum in Dayton on Friday, Nov. 24, at 2 p.m.
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