Janice Buckholtz

JANICE GAIL BUCKHOLTZ

Iowa City

Janice Gail Buckholtz of Iowa City passed away at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics on July 21, 2017, following a brief illness. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, at Lensing Funeral Cremation Service, 605 Kirkwood Ave., Iowa City. Burial will be at Floral Hills in Hazleton at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to Sweet Adelines International or a charity of choice.

Janice Gail Buckholtz, the daughter of Melvin and Zelma (Martin) Campbell, was born in Hazleton, Iowa, on Sept. 4, 1935. The family moved to Oelwein in 1937 and Jan graduated from Oelwein High School in 1953.

She married Norman Lee Buckholtz, also of Oelwein, on Sept. 26, 1953. She remained with her parents while he was on sea duty before joining him in Norfolk, Va. They returned to Oelwein following his discharge from the Navy. Daughter Kathy Faye was born in 1956, followed by daughter, Elena Faith, in 1959. The family resided in Oelwein, Ottumwa and Grinnell. Jan and Norm moved to Iowa City in 1999 following Norm's retirement from Fareway stores.

Music was centrally important to Jan's life. In 1969, she joined Sweet Adelines, a women's singing organization dedicated to the advancement of barbershop harmony, and was an active and dedicated member of the organization for 48 years. Mama sang bass in her household! She performed with several choruses and quartets, including more than 20 years with the Metro Mix Chorus in Iowa City. She held a number of administrative positions in the 1970s and '80s, including a term as president of her region. One of her proudest moments was seeing her daughter, Kathy, competing on the international contest stage.

When not singing, Jan could often be found working on Sweet Adelines-related activities or beautiful counted cross-stitch projects.

She will be remembered for her "can do" attitude, loyalty and sense of humor.

Janice was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Norman; daughter, Kathy Martin; brother, Jerry Campbell; niece, Jannes Lynne Snow; brothers-in-law, Dean Iverson and George Damon; and sister-in-law, MaryAnn Campbell.

Janice is survived by daughter, Elena Walker (Dave Brus) of St. Paul, Minn.; sisters, Faye Iverson of Phoenix, Ariz., Carol Damon (Arne Grimson) of Waterloo and Judy Pritchard (Lyle) of McGregor; brothers, James Campbell (Jane) of Oelwein and Steven Campbell (Helen) of Cedar Rapids; sister-in-law, Cherrill Harrison (Larry) of Springfield, Ore.; son-in-law, Michael Martin of Rahway, N.J.; grandson, Geoffrey Martin of Brooklyn, N.Y.; granddaughter, Stephanie Martin of Rahway; grandson, Alexander Martin of Rahway; stepgranddaughter, Leah Gates (Jess) of Houston, Texas; and a number of cousins, nieces and nephews.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.lensingfuneral.com.