Janice Cruickshank Thomas

1935 - 2017

Janice Cruickshank Thomas
March 31, 1935 - March 22, 2017
Janice Cruickshank Thomas, 81, passed away peacefully in Merced on March 22, 2017 after a six-year battle with cancer.Jan was born to John and Janet Stowe of Baytown, Texas, on March 31, 1935. She was the youngest of four daughters. While attending Robert E. Lee High School in Baytown, Jan was a majorette and drum major for the school marching band which performed at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. She was always an excellent student and excelled in English.
After high school, she met Herbert H. Cruickshank while he was stationed at Ellington Air Force Base in Houston, Texas for cadet training, and they married in 1954. They moved frequently and lived at multiple Air Force bases, including in Puerto Rico and Maine, while raising four children. In 1965, they moved to Merced when Herb was promoted to Lt. Colonel and transferred to Castle Air Force Base as a navigator instructor.
Several years later, Jan decided to take her first college class. She was the top student in her California history class at Merced College, and that encouraged her to continue. She went on to obtain her associate degree there and then transferred to California State University, Stanislaus, where she earned her bachelor's degree in English. Next, she received teaching credentials from Chapman University. In each case, Jan demonstrated her abilities as an outstanding student.
In 1976, Jan began a 19-year teaching career at Merced High School where she taught junior level English and Honors English. One of her former colleagues, Wayne Denno, described her as "an extraordinarily gifted teacher…she taught with wisdom, humor, and charm all at once. She was the teacher every student admired and deeply appreciated."
Jan also served as a negotiator for her teachers' association where she was known and respected as a consummate, natural, and remarkably gifted leader. Her reputation was such that, at any meeting, everyone wanted to hear what Jan had to say.
After her husband Herb died in 1992, Jan retired from teaching several years later and moved to Granite Bay, California. While there, she was a volunteer tutor to school-age children learning English.
In 2003, she attended her 50th high school reunion in Baytown and met Richard C. Thomas. They married the following year and moved to Kerrville, Texas where they resided for almost 13 years. During their marriage, Jan and Richard enjoyed travelling to many countries, and Jan especially liked seeing the world on cruise ships.
Jan was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Kerrville and, prior to her illness, was also active as a Stephen Minister.
In January, as Jan's health declined, one of her last wishes was to return to California and her "peeps." Her children and their spouses worked together to bring their mother back to Merced for her final days. Since she was too sick to travel via commercial airlines, her son Steve and his wife Cherie transported her by RV from Texas to California.
She is survived by her husband Richard C. Thomas; children Stephani Cruickshank of Merced, Herbert Cruickshank, Jr. (Dorothea McManis) of Weatherford, Texas, Stephen (Cherie) Cruickshank of South Jordan, Utah, and Tracy (Daryl) Mello of Atwater; nine grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. Pre-deceased in death by her first husband Herbert Cruickshank, mother and father, and sisters Geraldine McLean, Avis Sanders, and Doris Simmons.
Special thanks to Tera Winkle and Fred Vasquez and their staff at Just Like Home Care II and Covenant Hospice for their excellent care and loving support.No funeral at the request of Ms. Thomas. Memorial contributions can be made to the Cruickshank Scholarship Fund administered by the Merced Union High School District or the Medina Children's Home in Medina, Texas.
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