Janice Boyer Maddox

The view of heaven that was once but a vision is now a reality. On February 15, 2022, Jan Maddox died peacefully in her sleep and went to be with the God she had served her entire life.

Janice Mae Boyer was born on April 17, 1940, to the Rev. Dr. Harold & Thelma Boyer. An only child, Jan grew up knowing she was loved and treasured by her parents. She began piano lessons at a young age, and by the time she was 15 years old, she was the accompanist for a 35-member choir at the church her father pastored, Maiden Lane Church of God. After graduating from high school at 17 years of age, Jan went to Anderson College in Anderson, Indiana, where she met Vernon Maddox. Thus began a love that deepened every day through nearly 63 years of marriage, fueled by winking across the dinner table, laughing at themselves, and holding hands everywhere they went. Although their daughters (Sheri Gittins and Cindy Maddox) were sometimes embarrassed by their shenanigans, everyone who knew them well was grateful for the privilege of witnessing up close the most beautiful love anyone could imagine. Her husband never stopped calling her his bride. He probably never will.

Jan prided herself on building a home and making a tender pie crust, but she also found great joy as her husband's partner in ministry. She taught adult Sunday school classes, counseled countless women, and played the piano with so much passion that the listener knew she was playing not just with her fingers but with her heart. She loved when the children called her Mrs. Pastor, when the old women flirted with her husband, and when her pot luck dinner dishes came back empty. She also wrote Sunday school curriculum for the national publication board of the Church of God for a number of years.

In her later life, Jan found her heart's delight in her grandchildren (Tyler, Courtney, Amelia, and Joshua), and she would have been happy to tell you all about them and show you their pictures if you were willing to sit a spell or even pause in the produce section to check the price of oranges. Her family also would like to thank the person who invented the yellow first down line on televised football, as it relieved them of having to explain (again) what a down is. Once she grasped that concept, she became a huge fan of the Buckeyes and cheered for the players throughout their NFL careers.
A few weeks before her death, Jan was asked how she would like to be remembered. She said, "I hope it would be said that she was a woman who loved: she loved God, she loved her husband, loved her children, and ADORED her grandchildren. I hope that the love of God I feel in my heart would have penetrated to other people." Her family and friends agree that she got her wish. She will be remembered as a woman who loved.

The Celebration of Jan's life will take place on Friday, February 18, at 1:30 at Meadow Park Church of God, 2425 Bethel Road, Columbus. All guests are requested to wear a mask regardless of vaccination status. The service will be livestreamed at: https://www.meadowpark.org/memorial for those unable to attend in person. Visiting hours will take place before the service from 12:30 to 1:30. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Church of God Ohio Ministries, 653 McCorkle Blvd., Suite G, Westerville Ohio 43082 or Meadow Park Church of God (Dollar Club), PO Box 20759, Columbus, Ohio 43220, or Kobacker Hospice House, 800 McConnell Dr., Columbus, Ohio 43214.