Janice Hanako Shimizu

Janice Hanako Shimizu was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada by Mioko Lucy (née Arai) and Victor Yoshinobu Shimizu. With loving and supportive parents who deeply valued education and family, Janice, together with her big sister Kathy and little brother David, enjoyed countless opportunities to learn, travel, and connect with cousins, aunts, and uncles. Perhaps not surprisingly, therefore, Janice had many interests – she took up reading at a young age (she read A LOT), as well as drawing, music, sports, and dancing. The same big smile, twinkling eyes, intelligence, warmth, and sense of humor that first drew people to her in those early Winnipeg years, continued to brighten the days of all those around her wherever she went in life.
Janice's involvement with the Japanese Canadian community and her closeness with family on both sides who had suffered the injustice of internment in Canada during the Second World War gave her a strong sense of self and shaped many of her choices, including teaching English in Japan on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program, learning the Japanese language and shodo (Japanese calligraphy), becoming a black belt in Aikido (martial art), and traveling to Japan with her husband, Joshua Richard Coggeshall, and children, Maya Midori and Aaron Masanobu.
Janice earned her Bachelor of Environmental Design degree from the University of Manitoba and her Master of Architecture degree from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), where she received the Alpha Rho Chi Medal for leadership, service, and merit. She worked professionally in Toronto, Vancouver, Japan, Los Angeles, and Muncie, including as a Research Assistant at Studio Works (Robert Mangurian and Mary-Ann Ray), as a designer at Morphosis (Thom Mayne), Hodgetts + Fung, Guthrie + Buresh Architects, and as an Associate + Project Architect at SmithGroup. In 2004, she and Josh co-founded Shimizu + Coggeshall Architects (S+Ca), a full-service practice that has been recognized internationally for their design, environmental advocacy, with a focus on equity and inclusion. One project that held special meaning for Janice was the Table of Contents, a strategic urban collaborative endeavor with Stuart Hyatt Studio to address adult literacy. This lending library and reading room was designed and built with the community of Horizon House (https://www.horizonhouse.cc/), a day center that provides shelter and food for neighbors experiencing homelessness.
As an educator at Otis College of Art and Design, the University of Southern California (USC), and latterly at Ball State University as the Director of the Graduate Program and then as Faculty, Janice taught, mentored, and inspired hundreds of students over decades. Her strong desire to always be learning made her simultaneously a great teacher and student. As co-founder and Associate Curator, Janice was instrumental in Exhibit Columbus, whose goals are to educate, activate, and inspire through a curated series of public events and contemporary design installations in downtown Columbus, IN. Whether her work was international in scale (such as Exhibit Columbus), or locally-focused (e.g. CAP Makes: Muncie Makes (CMMM), 'We Think it We Make It' after school club and Community Garden at Motivate Our Minds, MADJAX, Muncie Makes Lab (MML), and Midnight Palace installation by MuncieArts & Culture Council), Janice believed good design is a right and worked tirelessly to address inequities in order to increase access to quality design and education for many communities.
One of Janice's greatest joys was being Mom to Maya and Aaron. Like her parents before her, Janice shared her endless curiosity, creativity, and love of learning with her children. The extraordinary patience that made her an excellent educator also made her a fantastic Mom... even if the kids didn't always enjoy their gardening tasks.
Family and friends are heart-broken and she has left a big hole in many lives, but Janice lived life to the fullest and we are far better people for having known her. We take comfort in all that she achieved and the many fond memories of all the people she touched.
The family is so grateful for the extraordinary compassionate care of the IU Health and Ball Memorial Hospital Teams.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, April 19, 2024 at Cornerstone Center for the Arts (520 E. Main Street, Muncie) with a celebration in the E.B. Ball Auditorium at 6:30 pm and reception in the Colonnade Room with light refreshments afterwards.
In lieu of flowers, please consider:
(i) a Memorial contribution to the Janice H. Shimizu Memorial Fund, Ball State University Foundation, 2800 W. Bethel Ave., Muncie, Indiana 47304, www.bsu.edu/foundation. To donate online, please select 'Other' in the drop-down menu and enter 'Janice H. Shimizu Memorial Fund' in the designation field.
(ii) a donation to Motivate Our Minds, Powell Street Festival Society, or a charity of your choice.
Online condolences may be directed to the family at www.meeksmortuary.com.