Jan (Janice) Marie Campbell

Music, Teaching, Learning, Faith, and Travel. These are just some of the words that capture the spirit of Jan (Janice) Marie Campbell. Jan passed away peacefully at her home in Federal Way, WA on Tuesday, February 17. She was surrounded by family.

Jan was born July 11, 1950 to her parents, Georgia and Vernon Whaley; their second child. Her brother, Glenn Whaley, survives her. Jan grew up in Sumner, WA, living in the rural countryside alongside the Puyallup River, growing as the valley grew around her.

Music was a large part of Jan's life. A skilled guitarist and singer, Jan first publicly performed in front of her dad's Eagle Aerie. Over the years, she began song-writing and performing at her church, often alongside her singing partner, Buck. During her later years, she sang in the Grace Lutheran Church Choir and the Federal Way Chorale. Creating music was something Jan felt deeply about, and passed this trait of "creating something beautiful and meaningful" onto her children and those around her.

As a young adult, being active in her faith and community, she was a proud member of Rainbow Girls, which is where she met her to-be-husband, Gary Campbell. An "electric shock" when they touched was all it took for them to be lifetime partners. Gary and Jan married in June of 1974. They spent their honeymoon traveling the western United States, from Washington, to Yellowstone, and down through California. Traveling and was something both her and Gary were passionate about. Additionally, Jan and Gary served on numerous missionary trips to Queensbury, Jamaica. She loved the people there.

In 1978, Jan and Gary welcomed their son, Matthew, and four years later, their daughter, Michelle. Jan was very patient with her children, teaching them the importance of crafting, reading, and learning. She was a fervent listener and their most supportive champion. During the summers, she went on adventures with her kids, taking them to find local treasures like Dash Point Beach, Point Defiance, and the wilds of Seattle. Both Jan and Gary taught their children empathy, kindness, and most importantly, exploration and freedom.

Jan brought these lessons with her as a teacher. Her career started in 1971 as a student teacher, and by 1974, she was hired full-time at Daffodil Valley Elementary School in Sumner, WA. Through the years, she taught 2nd and 3rd Grades at Daffodil, imparting her knowledge and kindness on many, many students. In 1994, she moved to Crestwood Elementary School in Bonney Lake, WA after Daffodil Valley was torn down. At Crestwood, she taught 3rd and 4th grades until she retired in 2007.

Once retired, Jan traveled everywhere and anywhere (looking at you, Branson, MO). Her thirst for seeing new places and learning new things was unquenchable. Together, Jan and Gary traveled to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South America, and crisscrossed the United States and Canada. Sometimes they traveled with family and friends, but they always traveled together, sharing these grand adventures and living their dream.

But time has a way of wearing us all down, and in Jan's case, this process came a little too soon. She fought hard to stay, to continue to love and laugh and take care of her family, but life has other plans. She is preceded in death by her mother and father, Georgia and Vernon Whaley, and her sister- and brother-in-law, Janice and Doug Templeton. She is survived by her husband, Gary Campbell; daughter, Michelle Campbell; son, Matthew Campbell; grandson, Jacobi Campbell; daughter-in-law, Jenniffer Campbell; sisters-in-law, Dale Anderson and Karen Reese; brother and sister-in-law, Glenn and Carol Whaley; and many, many nieces and nephews.

Thank you to everyone who visited her over her last days. She might not have been able to tell you out loud, but she loved you all.

An interment service will be held privately for close friends and family members only. A public celebration-of-life memorial will be held at Grace Lutheran Church in Des Moines, WA at 2pm on Saturday, March 21, 2026.

Memorial donations may be made in Jan's name to Washington Education Association Children's Fund or to the Grace Lutheran Church Choir.