Janice Jae Siemens was born November 18, 1931, at Buhler, Kansas, to Peter W. and Margaret Froese Siemens. She was an only child. At the age of seven months Janice contracted polio. She said the doctor in Buhler told them she would not live through the night. She was strong and proved him wrong. Her parents carried her on pillows to keep her comfortable. She survived paralysis on the right side and learned to walk, ride her bicycle and do as normal children.
Her cousin Gerald Smith, three years her senior, came to live with Janice and her family since his parents had separated and his mother took employment with Boeing during the war years. They were like brother and sister. During the years attending school he stayed with his grandmother at Inman but always came "home" for the weekends, often riding between Inman and Buhler on his bicycle.
Janice made a confession of her faith to follow Jesus and was baptized and joined the Mennonite Brethren Church of Buhler on Sept. 3, 1943. She graduated from Buhler Grade and High Schools and attended Grace Bible Institute 1952-1953. Leaving home was at first very difficult for Janice but she soon grew to enjoy her year at Grace Bible.
About the time Janice completed her year at Grace Bible, her cousin Gerald flew her to upstate New York where he was living to visit his family and other relatives in the area. Another cousin, Richard Siemens, drove her back to Kansas by car. This was one of the very few times Janice had the opportunity to travel outside of Kansas.
Her mother Margaret took ill and died November 16, 1965, and Janice became the housekeeper for herself and her father. A World War I veteran, Pete Siemens worked nights at the naval base near Yoder for many years, later for Sam Schneider Oil Co. and finally at the Buhler Flour Mills, again working nights. The family moved seven times in Buhler, finally settling into the home they purchased at 116 S. West Street. Her father had a light stroke in 1978 which compelled him to move to the Buhler Sunshine Home. He passed away in 1982.
From that time on Janice continued to live in their home on West Street until 2009, when a broken hip at age 79 caused her to move to the Sunshine Home where she lived until her passing.
Janice greatly enjoyed visiting her friends and widows in Buhler, and cheering people up. While the collective experience of her life may not seem grand, constrained by her humble upbringing and the lifelong effects of polio, her faith and her small acts of kindness toward others were boundless. Janice is among the blessed meek to whom this world truly belongs.
Survivors include her cousin Gerald's sons Geoffrey and Gary, among other relatives and many friends.
Graveside services will be held at 1:00 p.m., Thursday, January 14, 2021 at Buhler Municipal Cemetery. Friends may pay their respects to Janice from 3 to 5 p.m., Wednesday, January 13 at Buhler Mortuary. Memorial contributions may be made to Sunshine Meadows Retirement Community in care of Buhler Mortuary, PO Box 589, Buhler, KS 67522.
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