Janice Kuykendall

Janice Kuykendall of La Mesa CA passed away on February 11, 2024 at age 91. Janice was born on March 23, 1932 in Holdenville, Oklahoma. Nicknamed Jeece, she was the youngest child of Bob and Dovie Gardner. By 1938 the family settled in Norman, Oklahoma. Bob and Dovie, with two daughters, Janice and Happy, followed other children and family members to San Diego in 1944.  

Janice graduated from Kearny High School, continuing at San Diego State, and U.C. Berkeley as well as theater schools in Los Angeles.

Active in local theater, Janice appeared in the stage play at The Old Globe Theater titled “Lo and Behold” where she met another cast member Bob Kuykendall, a young Grossmont High School teacher. They were married in 1954.

Son David was born at the UCLA hospital while Bob attended the new UCLA Law school and sons Tom and Jim were born after the family moved to La Mesa. Janice resided in La Mesa for 65 years. Her activities centered on corralling the boys and assisting with Cub Scouts, P.T.A. and Little League programs as well as participating in the San Diego Bar Association.

In 1979 Janice re-entered the career field and spend several years as an Appeals Clerk for the San Diego County Superior Court. Her retirement interests included researching and documenting family history, photography, films and theater, and supporting the San Diego State Aztecs.

 As a wife, mother, and grandmother, she was kind, loving, generous, supportive, patient, gracious, humble – the glue that kept the family strong. Janice was preceded in death by her husband of 69 years, Bob. She is survived by three sons David (Stephanie) of Houston TX, Tom (Kim) of Seattle WA and Jim of La Mesa; granddaughter Katie; and extended Gardner and Kuykendall family.