January 26, 1955 – October 24, 2020

Janice Marie Strinko (née Marecki) passed away at the age of 65 on Saturday, October 24th after living strong with ovarian cancer for 15 years. She left behind her best friend and husband, Greg Strinko, her two children – Stephanie (Kyle) Meldrum and Jeffrey (Heather) Strinko, and three grandchildren – Benjamin Strinko, Oliver Strinko and Henry Meldrum. She was a loving sister to Margaret “Spugs” (Dave) Dillon and Vincent “Vard” Marecki. She was preceded in death by her brother, Paul “Pablo” Marecki, mother, Virginia Marecki, and father, Vincent Marecki.

Janice was raised in Dearborn, Michigan where she attended and graduated from Sacred Heart High School. She was an honor roll student, captain of the cheerleading squad and voted “Best Legs” in her senior class. Following high school, Janice entered the University of Michigan where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Although Janice loved to socialize and have a good time, she was known for bringing books to parties – never letting others distract her concentration on her studies. It was there she met and later married her husband and the love of her life, Greg, from Middletown, Ohio.

After graduation, Janice joined Greg in Washington D.C. and began her career at an area hospital, working as a Registered Nurse, and later Head Nurse. A few years later, they welcomed their first child, Jeffrey. Life then brought them to Fort Myers, Florida, where Janice began working at a local VA clinic and the couple welcomed their daughter, Stephanie. By far, Janice’s biggest accomplishment was raising, alongside Greg, her two strong and independent children.

Through the years, the family moved to Tampa, Florida and later on to St. Louis, Missouri where they have resided for the past 20 years. In that time, Janice served as a Triage Nurse at Bay Pines VA Hospital, a Hepatitis C Research Coordinator at St. Louis University, and ended her career as an Editorial Specialist for Elsevier medical publishing.

Janice was courageous and determined in her battle with cancer. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992 at the young age of 37. She went into remission for many years until 2005 – when it was discovered she had stage 3c primary peritoneal cancer. Over 15 years, she underwent countless treatments and procedures to extend her time, always exceeding the expectations of her doctors.

Cancer caused her death, but she refused to allow it to take her life. Through this time, she became the official Travel Director for the family, planning numerous trips to places like Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Italy, the Caribbean and Northern Michigan. She also enjoyed visiting the wine country of Missouri, and sipped a glass of wine almost every afternoon on her deck. She was an avid walker, “bipsy” dancer, and was known for her exceptional “choo choo” train impressions for her grandsons. Although she had a stern demeanor & Alpha personality, she had a great sense of humor and a desire to live life to its fullest despite the adversity of her illness. Her fortitude and unwavering optimism will continue to be an inspiration for everyone that had the fortune of knowing her.

Janice also used her positive energy, dignity, kindness, knowledge and experience to help others who were also engaged in a battle with cancer. She volunteered her time to educate future doctors on early detection and the patient experience with this insidiously awful disease through SLOCA – St. Louis Ovarian Cancer Awareness organization.

She was a pillar of strength and inspiration for all that knew her. Janice’s family and friends will miss her sense of humor, dignity, kindness and advice. She was a light for all of us that we will carry forever in our hearts and her example will help guide our lives.

Due to covid, the family will delay a memorial service until 2021. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to SLOCA (St. Louis Ovarian Cancer Awareness) in Janice’s honor at www.sloca.org.