Janice W. Hart

Born: September 8, 1938

Died: December 4, 2019

Janice W. Hart, 81, died at 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, December 4, 2019 surrounded by her family.

Visitation for Janice Hart will be from 4-8 p.m., Friday, December 13, 2019, at the Park Presbyterian Church, 205 N. Vermillion St., Streator.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m., Saturday, December 14, 2019, at the church. Rev. Caleb Suydam will officiate. Following the services burial will be in Riverview Cemetery. The Solon-Telford Funeral Home in Streator is assisting the family with the arrangements.

Janice was born September 8, 1938, in Streator, Illinois, the daughter of Donald R. and Beryl (McClure) Williams. She married Bruce F. Hart on August 14, 1960 at Park Presbyterian Church. He died April 14, 2014 in Streator.

She is survived by their three children, Leslie H. (Van) Friederich of Goodfield, Todd W. (Shannon) Hart of Springfield, Allan B. (Kim) Hart of Morton; grandchildren, Tristan Friederich, Luka Friederich, Steven Hart, Jennifer Hart, Justin Hart, and Allayna Hart. She is also survived by her nieces and nephews.

She also was preceded in death by her father, Donald (1958); her mother, Beryl (1976); her sister, Sally (1999); and her brother, Allan (1958).

Janice W. Hart attended Grant Grade school and Streator High School, graduating in 1956. She graduated from Northwestern University in 1960 with a Bachelor's Degree in Education. She was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

Janice was a stay-at-home mom along with being a successful business person. She, along with her husband, was an integral part of Hart Realty and its success that spanned 45 years. In 1964, Janice and Bruce were a part of the founding of Heritage Manor Nursing Home when the second home of the Heritage organization was built in Streator. Heritage Health/Evergreen Place has been in Streator for 55 years.

Janice was an active member of the Park Presbyterian Church for more than 65 years. She was very involved with the church, serving on many committees by participating in and providing support for its ministries. She was a leader in the church guiding many projects as well as serving as both Elder and Deacon.

Janice was very committed to supporting the Streator Area United Way. She was recently recognized for 55 years of volunteer service. She received the Tom Wilson Award in 1984, the organization's top award for exceptional volunteer service. In 1981, as campaign chairperson, Janice was able to reach the annual campaign goal in four weeks. In the history of the organization, she was one of three campaign chairpersons to accomplish this. Many years ago, she helped to create Vanguard Club of the Streator Area United Way, which is still the backbone of the annual giving campaign. She served as its chairperson through the 2019 campaign.

In 1998, Janice was the first recipient of the Maxine Wargo Community Service Award, which is given annually by the Streator Area Chamber of Commerce.

Janice served on the Streator Public Library Board of Trustees for many years. She was a proud supporter and volunteer for the Friends of the Library. She was recently recognized for assisting in renovations to the children's area of the facility. Janice volunteered extensively for the Riverview Cemetery Association. She assisted the organization in its annual fundraising efforts as well as supporting its maintenance and historical preservation. Janice volunteered weekly at the Streator Food Pantry. The Streator YMCA was also very important to Janice. Along with using the YMCA facilities regularly, she over many years, served on several boards supporting and governing the YMCA. Janice supported and volunteered for the Streatorland Historical Society. Preserving and sharing the history of the Streator area was very important to her. In recent years, she was involved with the Streator Fire Department assisting in the installation of free smoke detectors in many local residences. Her love for the community and its citizens was very much a part of her life.

In addition to raising her family and serving the Streator community, Janice's main passion was tennis. She played regularly in both Streator and Peru for more than 40 years. She won more than 40 tennis tournaments locally, regionally and outside Illinois. She competed in both the Illinois and U.S. Senior Olympics. Janice loved to travel with her friends and family. She attended all four major professional tennis tournaments (multiple times)-Wimbledon, the French Open, the Australian Open, and the U.S. Open. As a USTA member she helped to promote youth tennis programs in the area and never hesitated in assisting the Streator High School tennis teams.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Riverview Cemetery Restoration Fund, Park Presbyterian Church, Streator Public Library, or Streatorland Historical Society.

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.solontelford.com