Obituary of Janice Radway

Janice Radway was born December 20, 1938 to Michael and Marietta Cataldi in Newark, New Jersey. Her young childhood was spent happily with her parents and older brother, Robert. The family moved to Denville, New Jersey where Janice attended school and graduated from Morristown High School in nearby Morristown, New Jersey. Janice was very involved with many school activities. She went on to attend Farley Dickenson College. They were in close proximity to New York City and the activity of the city drew Janice there, where she enjoyed coffee houses, theater and music. In some of the photos of her early life, she can be seen playing the drums and dressed in dramatic black clothing. She had a flair for drama and briefly attempted to quench her theatric desire in the theaters. Janice spent time on Air Force Bases visiting her brother Robert and his wife Helen (Patty). One of these bases was located in Syracuse, New York and while there, Janice found employment with Grolier. There she met and caught the eye of her future husband, Vernon Radway. After a whirlwind romance they married on December 16, 1961 in New Jersey. Vernon and Janice happily welcomed three children into their lives, Scott, Stasy and Lori. For the early years of the marriage the family lived in Syracuse. In 1970 The Radway's built a house in Pompey and moved the young family there. They built a life centered around family, friends and community. Jan quickly became acclimated to country life, growing a garden and working in the yard. Janice dearly loved her "country" house in Pompey. Every few years she would redecorate, painstakingly providing a comfortable, welcoming home for her family and friends. Janice had various teaching jobs at Bryant and Stratton, CCBI and OCC. She excelled at teaching and loved her career. Some of her students became lifelong friends. When she finished her teaching career, Jan turned to helping people live fuller lives by testing and fitting people with hearing aids. She loved the look on the faces of clients when she spoke to them and they were hearing clearly for the first time in years. It made her happy to influence a life in that way. Janice never met a stranger. She could go into a gathering not knowing anyone and could come out with five new friends. Always a great conversationalist, Jan could talk for hours. Vern tells the story of going on vacation with dear friends, the Armans, where Jan and Carol stayed longer. After a month together, they came home and spent the very next day on the phone for many hours! If you visited Jan at home, you could count on staying for the afternoon, always feeling valued and welcomed. Janice had three grandchildren whom she loved dearly; Christian, Jordan and Morgan. She absolutely loved to plan adventures and spend time with them. She planned their visits with great care and went to extraordinary lengths to make it the time of their lives each time she saw them. It brought her great joy. Her grand children truly felt the same way about her. Although Janice was born and raised attending the Catholic Church, she began attending the Pompey Community Church during the last eight years of her life. She loved the sense of community she felt there, although she sometimes missed the rituals of the Catholic Church. When an accident disabled Jan in 2008, The Pompey Community Church offered great aid to Jan and Vern. They made meals and even helped purchase equipment. Janice greatly appreciated her church family. They, together with her family and faithful home health care aides took excellent care of her. Although her last years were extremely challenging, she was surrounded and made to feel whole again. Jan was very dearly loved by everyone who met her. She is missed by her family and friends. We thank you for your loving acts of kindness and prayers in this time of sorrow.