Janice Elaine McKinnis

Our beloved Janice Elaine Wanamaker was born on December 1, 1937, in Clay Center, Kansas. She was the daughter of Howard and Grace Wanamaker, and big sister to Gary and Bruce Wanamaker.

In high school, Janice excelled in anything related to music, playing flute and piano as well as singing. She had known Craig McKinnis since Junior High, and one day, demanded that Craig, a shy boy in the Junior class, carry her books home. They had been together ever since for nearly 70 years. She graduated from Stockton High School in 1955 and left Stockton to get her B.A. in Music Education from the University of Kansas. She graduated in 1959.

Prior to graduating, she married her sweetheart Craig on a cold winter day in Stockton, Kansas, in 1958. They welcomed son Michael into the world in 1959.

After graduating, Janice taught at an elementary school to support Craig in his senior year and in his Master’s program. There, she was asked to coach girls basketball, although she knew nothing about the details of the sport. She learned! The assignment was fitting, as she was a huge KU basketball fan She joked that she had been a soprano, but became an alto after years of yelling for the KU Jayhawks!

The family moved to San Diego on July 10, 1961, when Craig got a job at General Dynamics. Her twin daughters, Kerri and Lynne, were born in 1963. She didn’t find out that she was pregnant with twins until six weeks before they were born! She and Craig purchased their lovely home on Bakewell Street in Clairemont Mesa in 1965, where they lived for 55 years. Also in 1965, Janice obtained her California Teachers Credential and somehow survived as a substitute teacher for many years.

Janice and Craig joined St. Marks United Methodist Church and began singing in the choir. When the children’s choir director position opened up, Janice applied and of course got the job. She directed the Carol Choir and Crusader Choir for 25 years, putting on multiple cantatas including Cool in the Furnace and 100% Chance of Rain in 1973—that year, it rained for 17 rehearsals in a row! Fitting! An Eagle Scout who was a member of the church created the “Janice McKinnis Memorial Walkway.” Before that, she trudged up the muddy path from her car with all of her supplies. She also directed the women’s bell choir for 11 years, and the youth “folk choir” for two.

In 1976-1977, Janice earned a Certificate in Orff at SDSU so she could teach piano at her home studio. At one point, she had 17 students. The kids have fond memories of the Texas sheet cake and white cake with raspberry filling she served at the recitals.

In 1983, Janice began to teach music in San Diego Unified, where she traveled to three elementary schools with her wagon full of instruments. The three schools had music programs sponsored by their respective PTAs. Lynne remembers that mom had to remove the instruments from her trunk whenever she needed to go grocery shopping! In 1990, SDUSD began the prep-time program, giving classroom teachers preparation time while their students received music instruction. She taught with the prep time program for ten years. Nearly 40 years after receiving her college diploma, Janice finally got her wish: in 1990, she had her own music classroom at Doyle Elementary.

When she and Craig moved to Tucson in 1992 as a result of a restructuring at General Dynamics, Janice taught music at a private school. When they returned to San Diego in 1996, she was assigned to Whitman Elementary and taught there until her retirement in 2001. She and Craig joined FUMC and sang in the Chancel Choir for 22 years. Janice was honored to direct the San Diego Unified Elementary Honor Choir in 2005.

Janice chose the music for today in a file called “Janice’s Funeral Music.” At St. Marks, Janice and Craig and Bill and Janice Kittle formed the “McKittle Quartet” and sang The King of Love my Shepherd Is during the summer choir break.

After retirement, Janice and Craig traveled extensively, taking river cruises on the major rivers in Europe among other destinations. Mom’s favorite city was Vienna, where she and Craig attended a concert at the Golden Hall of the Musikverein, where the Vienna Philharmonic performs its New Years concert every year. Janice was Craig’s navigator for their many RV trips, traveling across the U.S. and into Canada.

Janice enjoyed attending plays and concerts at the Old Globe and San Diego Symphony, where she and Craig had season tickets. Craig and Dick Draz had season tickets to the Chargers for 50 years: Janice likely enjoyed tailgating with the Kittles, Johnsons, Comers, and Draz’s more than the games!

Janice started her quilting hobby with Prayers and Squares at FUMC, then joined the Busy Bees, another quilting group. She shared with Kerri that members felt safe to talk about anything. Over the years, she sewed at least 20 prayer quilts, and created beautiful quilts for her children and grandchildren. Each grandchild received a special quilt when they graduated high school. She was making a quilt for her nephew Steven Wanamaker’s wedding when she suffered her stroke on May 13, 2024.

Janice was a loving grandma; she organized cookie decorating parties during the holidays and taught the grandchildren how to play Cribbage and Mexican Train during the many nights she and Craig babysat.

After retirement, she volunteered for Symphony Outreach, where she prepared students to attend performances of Peter and the Wolf. Janice’s main professional goal in life was teaching children to appreciate music and to sing, and she accomplished this goal many times over through many generations.

She joked that her epitaph should read “Janice McKinnis: Champion of Lost Causes.” We hope she knew the impact she had on everyone around her, and that her causes were not lost.

Janice was looking forward to being a great grandmother for the first time. Clark Michael Ruim was born on December 15, 2024—the same date that her mother Grace was born.

Janice is survived by husband Craig, son Michael (Elizabeth), daughters Lynne Shinohara (Yas), and Kerri De Rosier (David), grandchildren Kevin McKinnis, Chelsea McKinnis-Ruim (Ben), Bryce and Shelley Shinohara, and Sarah De Rosier (Matt Dockery), brothers Gary Wanamaker (Jo) and Bruce Wanamaker (Janeal) of Kansas City.