JANICE SUMMERVILLE

January 1, 1926 – September 24, 2022

Devoted wife and mother, Janice Summerville, passed away peacefully at her home in Chico, California on September 24, 2022 at the age of 96. Janice was born in Stockton, California to Greek immigrants Stavros and Asemo Faraos (Farros) who were founding members of St. Basil’s Greek Orthodox Church in Stockton. Janice was preceded in death by her devoted husband Jim in 2021, whom, after 67 years of marriage, she often referred to as her “savior”.

During her junior high school years, Janice was raised with her sister Effie by their mother’s sister (Mary) in San Francisco. She remembered fondly the quieter times of San Francisco and commuting on ferry boats prior to the construction of the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges. Janice loved attending events in the city including the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island. Janice and Effie returned to Stockton to graduate from Stockton High School, with Janice continuing her studies at the University of the Pacific. During high school, Janice was gifted in traditional Greek dancing and was an original member of St. Basil’s Daughters of Penelope.

Janice met the love of her life, Jim Summerville, in Sacramento on a blind date in 1953. Following their engagement and wedding in Jim’s hometown of Aliceville, Alabama, they returned to Sacramento to build their family with Janice’s first son, Steve, and adding Pete in 1957 and Bob in 1960. Janice became a devoted wife and mother and tirelessly supported the family during numerous moves between California and Arizona while Jim built his career with General Electric. After settling in Sacramento, Janice worked part-time as a fashion buyer and model at Rhodes Department Store. With a significant job promotion for Jim in 1966, the family moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where they resided in the new Briarmoor Manor Subdivision of Dekalb County. There they quickly became active members in various neighborhood groups and with the Atlanta Greek Cathedral of the Annunciation. With her stunning beauty and witty west-coast sense of humor, Janice was highly regarded by her new deep-south friends and family in Georgia and Alabama, and never missed a chance to proudly proclaim her Greek heritage. Janice was an original “soccer mom”, often shuttling large groups of players through all types of weather to practices and games in her well known 17-foot Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser station wagon.

Following her son Bob and wife Jean back to California in 1996, Janice was a devoted grandmother to Sam and Lily in Chico, and with Jim, became active members of St. Basil’s Greek Church in Stockton.

She was loved and respected by her neighbors in Chico and Atlanta and instilled in her family the value of a solid education and hard work ethic learned from her father and mother during the Great Depression.

Janice was preceded in death by her husband Jim, her sister Effie Kalesis, and brothers Jim and George.

She is survived by three sons Steve (Carolyn), Pete (Debbie), and Bob (Jean), two grandchildren Sam and Lily, her brother Nick (Jesslyn) Farros, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Janice will be laid to rest alongside her husband Jim in a Greek Orthodox service at Cherokee Memorial Cemetery in Lodi, California on October 28, 2022. Additional details about Janice’s exemplary life, or where to make tributes in her name, can be found at Newton Bracewell Chico Funeral Homes

(https://www.nbcfh.com).