Janice Thomas

JANICE CAROL THOMAS Dec. 28, 1937 - Feb. 21, 2021 Janice Thomas had a remarkable ability to find the essential ingredients of a happy life and savor them - family, friends, a home-cooked meal, a glass of pinot noir, a good book, occasional travel and, as always, sharing stories and laughs. Jan Thomas passed away Feb. 21 at her home, surrounded by family members, after a year-long battle with cancer. She was 83. She was born Janice Carol Ouellette in Detroit, three days after Christmas 1937, and lived her entire life in the metropolitan Detroit area. She graduated from St. Rita High School on State Fair Road in Detroit in 1955 and, at age 19, married Daniel J. Desmond, a St. Rita classmate who also lived in Detroit. They had two children, Denise and Daniel B. After a divorce in 1970, Jan remarried and moved to Royal Oak, where she lived most of her life. She remained friends with her former husband, Dan, who also lived in the Detroit area until his unexpected death in 1989. She took a job in 1972 as secretary at William Sullivan and Son Funeral Home in Royal Oak, where she worked for 34 years until retiring in 2006. She continued to lend a hand on a part-time basis with the funeral home even after retirement. She grew up in a family of five and was especially close to her sisters, Lois and Judy. She had an exceptional talent for making friends - no matter where she went. One example is on her annual trips to Aruba, where she met other couples from the Detroit suburbs and continued those friendships at home. In her later years, she had a special companion in her life, Richard "Dick" Potts, the former owner of the Mary Jane Flower and Gift Shop next door to the Sullivan Funeral Home. They were a cheerful and sociable couple who enjoyed spending time with friends and family on the weekends - until separate illnesses disrupted their activities. Jan also found joy in being "Granny" to five grandchildren and, since 2015, a great grandmother to two boys, who lovingly called her "Gigi." To all her friends and family, she was kind, caring, thoughtful, generous and understanding - and a master cook in the kitchen. She was sister to Lois (Lloyd) Harsh, Richard (Rose) Ouellette, Judith (James) Suppelsa and John Ouellette. She was mother to Denise M. Giordano and Daniel B. Desmond. She was grandmother to Anne (Patrick) Clark, Jill (Philip) Ruffino, Erin Desmond, Daniel "D.J." Desmond and Brian Desmond. She was great grandmother to Griffin and Brooks Clark. She was "second mom" to John Giordano and Emily Desmond. She was preceded in death by her parents, Mary Lucille and Joseph Everitt Ouellette. A memorial service will be private for immediate family on March 18 at 11 am. The service will be live-streamed for extended family and friends. Please visit Jan's obituary on the funeral home website, under the photos and videos tab a few minutes prior to the service. Donations (in lieu of flowers) can be made in Janice Thomas's name to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (stjude.org). Share your memories at www.sullivanfuneraldirectors.com.

Janice Thomas

December 28, 1937 - February 21, 2021