Janice McCallum Wosser

Janice McCallum Wosser died January 26, 2021 after a short, rapid decline, in no pain and accompanied by loving family. Born December 10, 1925, she had a long and happy life rich with friends, nature, good health and contribution to her world. Jan loved to hike, and for many years she backpacked with a group of intrepid others into wild high country where, among other events, raucous impromptu costume parties (using only materials found in nature) ensued. She had a way with plants and animals—always had a windowsill full of growing things plucked from plants ("they needed pruning!") gathered along her walks. She tamed squirrels and delighted in bluejays' taste for the peanuts she held out to them. She was a true nurturer and great fan of life in all its natural forms.

Jan loved to dance, swim, tear up the mountain on her bike, and roller-skate with the neighborhood kids when she had young ones of her own. She and her husband Tom created hilarious outfits for the yearly engineers' convention costume parties; they hosted warm and lively parties and were known for bringing family and friends together, always with humorous, far-ranging conversations—and often punctuated by quick trips to the bookshelf to look up something in the World Book.

She read voraciously until her eyes began to give out, and listened to music—mostly jazz but really anything with a beat. She painted watercolor landscapes for a while, and kept a house filled with grace and color. She had an eye for design always—even as she faded—a particularly good scene would give her a palpable and contagious thrill.

Jan grew up in Belvedere, out in the San Francisco Bay, sailing with her brother and friends. With natural grace and hard work, she became an accomplished ballet dancer in her teens. She attended UC Berkeley and was active in the Alpha Phi sorority, majoring in Latin American history. She met her husband-to-be, Tom Wosser, when they were 5 years old in a playground in Mill Valley, and then again in dance school in junior high. Jan was a staunch and steady supporter as Tom helped grow the engineering firm of Degenkolb and Associates in San Francisco and beyond. Living in Redwood City as their daughters came up, Jan led both Girl Scout and Bluebird troops, and participated in PTA and classrooms, especially valued as the person to lead excursions to the tide pools or on camping trips.

Jan leaves her older daughter Kathryn Page in Sonoma, her younger Marcia Wosser in Kalispell, MT, and her grandson Evan in San Francisco, and great-granddaughter Saundra in Price, Utah. She will be remembered as an effervescent and curious spirit who enlivened every situation she encountered.

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