Janice Mailand Gendrich

1940 - 2020

Janice Mailand Gendrich 1940—2020
Janice Vada Mailand Gendrich (December 2, 1940-March 9, 2020) was born and raised in Freeport, IL. As a teenager she acted in plays, and was a cheerleader and an avid basketball player. She attended the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, majoring in math. There she met the love of her life, biochemist Ronald L. Gendrich (August 12, 1938-October 22, 2012) and they were married on Valentine's Day in 1960 at the Lutheran Chapel in Champaign, IL. They lived for most of their lives in Waukegan, IL, where they raised four children, all of whom survive them: Ronald, Cynthia, Charles (Jodi), and Julia. Ron and Jan retired in 1993 and moved to Lake Tahoe, where they lived until Ron's death in 2012. Jan then moved to Winston Salem, NC, to be near her daughter, Cindy. There, she enjoyed attending plays and concerts at Wake Forest University, and made a group of close friends in her community. A lifelong lover of music and theatre, she was also a passionate sports fan, an extraordinarily fine baker, and a loving mom. She delighted in the achievements of her children, and of her granddaughters, Elise and Katie Gendrich, who also survive her. Contributions can be made in her name to the Wake Forest University Theatre, Winston-Salem, NC (https://theatre.wfu.edu/new-home/giving).