Janice Morrison Overfield Rusack

1919 - 2017

November 3, 1919 - August 29, 2017 Janice Morrison Overfield Rusack, longtime resident of Pacific Palisades, died August 29, 2017 at the age of 97. Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, Janice attended Rowland Hall School and graduated from Wellesley College in 1942. She met her husband, the late Bishop of Los Angeles, Robert Claflin Rusack, while he was working in Salt Lake City. They married in 1951 and moved to Deer Lodge, Montana, where their children were born. After a year spent in Canterbury, England, the family moved to Santa Monica in 1958, where the future bishop was newly elected rector of St. Augustine by-the-Sea Episcopal Church. In 1964 they moved to Pacific Palisades. Janice was a lifelong Episcopalian and worked tirelessly on ministries of support for clergy spouses and families. Janice was also deeply involved in significant fundraising endeavors for Wellesley College, Planned Parenthood and the Neighborhood Youth Association. She served on the boards of both St. George's College, Jerusalem and General Theological Seminary, New York City. She was an active docent at Los Angeles County Museum of Art and a devoted member of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church. In 1986 Janice was named honorary canon of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. Janice and Bob opened their home to countless friends and visitors from all over the world where she served up delicious home-cooked meals. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and friend who enjoyed travel, hiking, beach walks and her Labrador Retrievers. A woman of boundless energy, she was always available for her family and friends and was game for any new adventure. Janice will be sorely missed. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law Rebecca Rusack Waycott and Richard Waycott, her son and daughter-in-law Geoffrey Claflin Rusack and Alison Wrigley Rusack, and five grandchildren, Louisa and Colin Waycott and Robert Hunter, Austin and Parker Rusack. A memorial service celebrating Janice's life will be held on Saturday, October 21 at 2:30 PM at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Pacific Palisades followed by a reception. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Episcopal Relief and Development (http://episcopalrelief.org) and General Theological Seminary (http://gts.edu).