G. Janice Martin

Janice Martin, 95, passed away on Monday, September 18, 2017 at Villa Maria in Fargo, North Dakota.

Janice was born in 1922 in Edgeley, North Dakota to Harry and Ruby Dell (Farnsworth) Schnell. Janice and her family moved to Fargo when she was seven. She attended Hawthorne elementary school and graduated from Fargo Central High School, class of 1940. She attended North Dakota Agricultural College, studying home economics. Janice transferred to the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona where she continued membership in the Gamma Phi Beta sorority. She graduated with honors in 1944.

After graduation and during World War II, Janice taught home economics and chemistry in Neche, North Dakota while fiancé Ralph Martin was stationed in Europe. After the war and on his return in October 1945, Ralph and Janice were married at the First Presbyterian Church of Fargo. They lived in Fergus Falls, Minnesota for three years before returning to Fargo in 1949.
Janice served on the boards of the Fargo-Moorhead Junior League and the YWCA. She was a member of P.E.O. (an organization supporting women’s education) and a volunteer at the Fargo Opportunity School, a school for special needs children.

Janice joined the First Presbyterian Church of Fargo in 1935 where she later served for many years as flower chairwoman. She was co-chairperson of flowers and a board member at Shoreham Chapel on Lake Melissa in rural Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, near the family’s lake house. In 1986, Ralph and Janice built a home in Mesa, Arizona, where they spent winters until Ralph’s death in 2005. In Mesa, she was active in the Velda Rose Methodist Church. She enjoyed North Dakota Club and the American Association of University Women (AAUW).

Janice loved cats, birds, the color purple, and hot fudge sundaes. The desert and Arizona were favorite places. She loved having a schedule, being early and socializing. Dressing fashionably and having good hair were a must for Janice. She had a gift for home decorating and coordinating color. An excellent bridge player, she continued to play into her nineties.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Ralph; infant son, Stevie; brother, Doug Schnell, and sister-in-law, Jean (Hoverson) Schnell. Janice is survived by son, Doug (Jennifer) of Pacifica, California and his children Alexandra and Caitlin Martin; daughter, Sarah (Steve Hazelton) of Richfield, Minnesota and their children Molly Hasse (Tyler) and John Hazelton; and great-grandchildren Natalie and Isaac Hasse. Also surviving Janice are her brother Doug Schnell’s children, Vicki Ingstad (Jim) of Fargo and Scott Schnell (Dawn) of Great Falls, Virginia.

The family wishes to thank the staff at Villa Maria for their exceptional loving care of both Janice and her family.

A celebration of Janice’s life is planned for April 2018 at the First Presbyterian Church of Fargo.

Memorials are preferred to Villa Maria of Fargo, First Presbyterian of Fargo, or charity of your choice.