Janice M. Harris

Janice Mae Harris (nee Sigmund), 85, went Home to be with the Lord on January 27, 2025. 

She was born in Milwaukee, WI on May 22, 1939. She was a graduate of Rufus High School in Milwaukee. In 1959, she married Bruce Harris (deceased 2001). 

In 1967, she and Bruce and their three children moved from Milwaukee to Grafton, WI. She resided in Grafton for 56 years before moving near her daughters in the East Troy area and then to an assisted living in Whitewater, WI. 

Before she retired, Janice worked as a quality control inspector and then operated her own cleaning business. Janice loved to be outdoors and especially enjoyed gardening – she called it “playing in the dirt”. She also had a gift and joy for music. In her younger years, she played piano, and later when arthritis in her hands made piano playing difficult, she sang in her church choir. Fascinated by family history, Janice took a genealogy class and then researched both her and Bruce’s family’s ancestor backgrounds. She meticulously collected what she learned and put that information into a detailed binder – a wonderful treasure trove that she shared with family members. Janice enjoyed creating beautiful landscape quilts and doing all sorts of word and jigsaw puzzles. She was also an enthusiastic and faithful Brewers and Packers fan! 

Janice will be remembered for those talents and traits, but more importantly, she will be most likely remembered for the gracious kindness she extended to those around her, the joy she had for simple things and beauty around her, and the love she had for family and the Lord Jesus, her Savior. 

Janice is survived by her loving children Mark, Lorna, and Linda (Doug) and by her dear grandchildren, Renee, Amanda, Valerie, Evan, and Daniel. Preceding her in death were her parents, Edward and Ella (nee Schmechel); her husband Bruce; her brother, Chuck; and sisters Charlotte and Carol. 

A funeral service will be held on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, at 12 Noon at Mueller Funeral Home & Crematory, 979 N. Green Bay Rd., Grafton. Interment at Woodlawn Cemetery, Grafton. A visitation will take place on Wednesday, at the funeral home, from 10:00 AM until 11:45 AM.

In lieu of flowers, memorials to the Milwaukee Rescue Mission www.milmission.org, or to Samaritan’s Purse www.samaritanspurse.org are appreciated.