Janice Ruth (Wenzel) Lepisko passed away peacefully at the Gill Odd Fellows Home in Ludlow, Vermont on Tuesday, November 14, 2023.

Janice was born to Willard and Ruth (Savino) Wenzel in Scranton, Pennsylvania on October 7, 1940. She graduated from Moscow High School and Lackawanna Business College. She married Gerald John Lepisko on September 12, 1964. In December of 1972, they moved with their four children to Quechee, Vermont.

Wherever Janice went she fully engaged in her community. She was president of the Quechee Elementary School PTA, a volunteer at the Quechee Library, she and her friend Michael Yaroschuck, vice president and president of the Quechee Chamber of Commerce, conceived of and organized the first Quechee Hot Air Balloon Festival, now in its 43rd year. When the family moved to Brownsville, Janice joined the organizers of the famous Brownsville Baked Bean Suppers. She was an active member of St. Francis of Assisi parish, and a volunteer at the Windsor Public Library.

She worked at Dewey's Mills fabric store at the Quechee Gorge, the pizza shop with her son Jason, the Booksmith in West Lebanon, and at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Windsor.

Janice's granddaughters called her 'Nonnie'. Bella remembers when her sister was born how Nonnie doted on her and put a dab of her vanilla scent on Bella's Groovy Girl doll so she and Nonnie could always be close. Ava remembers Nonnie's spicier side from family dinners. Hannah spent hours in Nonnie's kitchen with her pouring and measuring and no matter how these concoctions turned out, Nonnie and Poppie insisted that they were delicious.

Janice was classy. She never went out of the house without looking well put together. She always wore a hat. Beautiful, felted wool in the winter and straw in the summer. Janice was an extraordinary home cook and had amassed quite a collection of cookbooks. When it came to a game of Scrabble, it can't be said that she was a sore loser. She appreciated Vermont writers and attended many readings at the Norwich Bookstore. Her always comfortable and beautifully decorated homes had her mother's and her brother's drawings and paintings on display for decades.

Janice is survived by her brothers, Tom and Gary Wenzel, her son, Jerry, Jr. and his partner, Michele Goodell, her daughter, Jill Trombly and her husband Gene, her daughter, Jennifer Lepisko, and her granddaughters, Hannah Lepisko, and Bella and Ava Bjornstad. She is predeceased by her parents, her husband, Gerald Lepisko, and her son, Jason Lepisko.

The family is infinitely grateful for the love and care that Janice received at the Gill Odd Fellows Home in Ludlow. In lieu of flowers, should you wish, please make a donation in Janice's name to this beautiful place.

Knight Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements. Condolences may be expressed in an online guestbook found at www.knightfuneralhomes.com