Obituary: Janice Kay Wilson

Janice Kay Wilson, 53, of Chilhowee, Missouri, formerly of Walnut, Kansas, died at 8:56 p.m., Tuesday, January 17, 2017 at St. Luke’s Mid-America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Missouri.
Janice was born March 10, 1963 at Girard, Kansas, the youngest child of Ralph and Margaret (Schneider) Wilson.  Janice was raised in Walnut until the death of her father in 1971, when she, her mother, and her siblings moved to Girard.  She attended Walnut and Girard schools and married Kenneth Keopke on October 31, 1979 at Nevada, Missouri.  They were later divorced.
Janice was a single parent and knew the economic hardships of raising four children on her own.  She supported her family through her work ethic and intelligience, working for a number of years for Intellisell Corporation where she was the site manager at Arma and Girard, Kansas.  She also worked as an outside sales executive for Kansas Cellular and Alltel.  Janice’s career was cut short in 2001 by a debilitating car accident that left her wheel chair bound for almost a year.  Reconstructive surgery on her hip and legs allowed her to regain her mobility but left her with excruciating pain for the rest of her life.
She began a committed relationship with Steve Pope in November of 2004 and they have been inseparable since.  Janice moved with Steve to Chilhowee in 2007 where she dedicated many hours of volunteer work to the Chilhowee R-IV School District.  She was a renowned gardener and sold and donated many bushels of produce to neighbors and travelers on MO-2 Highway.  Three years ago, Janice and Steve started a trucking company and recently she was actively involved in the cleanup and reopening of Leeton Feed and Fertilizer in Leeton, Missouri.
Janice is survived by her fiancée, friend, and companion, Steve Pope, of the home; her mother, Margaret Morrison of Girard; a son, Nick Keopke, and his wife, Sandy, of Coffeyville, Kansas; a daughter, Kendra Brooksher, and her husband, Matt, of Pittsburg, Kansas; a son, Zak Keopke, and his wife, Lauryl, of Vancouver, Washington; a daughter, Kaylee Keopke of the home; She is also survived by 8 grandchildren who she loved dearly, Avery, Aiden, Ethan, and Samuel Brooksher, Isaac, Adalyn, Kaleb, and Natalie Keopke.  She is also survived by her brothers, Gary Wilson, and his wife, Marguerite, of Girard and Everett Wilson of Wichita, Kansas; her sisters, Nancy Kautz and her husband Rick of Grove, Oklahoma, Patty Ozbeck of Calera, Oklahoma, and Sharon Shepherd, and her husband, Jim, of Eldon, Missouri; numerous nieces and nephews.  Steve’s children Charles Pope and his wife Heather of New Deli, India, Roxanne Nutt, and her husband, Chris, of Girard, Michael Pope, and his wife, Angela, of Chillicothe, Missouri, and Adam Pope, of the home; 9 step-grandchildren.  And finally, and probably as important as her human survivors, are her Yorkie puppies Ranger, Callie, Sadie, Zoey, and Tootsie.
Janice was preceded in death by her father; a stillborn daughter, Charity Wilson; and a niece, Terri Lee Wilson.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m., Monday at the Smith-Carson-Wall Funeral Home in Girard with Janice’s brother in law, Pastor Jim Shepherd, officiating.  Burial will be in the Mapleton Cemetery at Mapleton, Kansas, next to her father.
The family will receive friends from 1 p.m., Monday until service time at the Smith-Carson-Wall Funeral Home where friends may call after 1:30 p.m., Sunday.
Memorials are suggested to Children’s Mercy Hospital or the Girard Alumni Association and these may be left at the Smith-Carson-Wall Funeral Home, 518 W St. John, Box 258, Girard, 66743.
Condolences may be sent to www.wallfuneralservices.com