Janet Hansen Poncia was born on September 18, 1938 to Clifford and Lorene Hansen in Montpelier Idaho. Janet was the middle child of Cliff and Lorene with two older sisters, Doreen and Joann, and two younger brothers, Paul and Kenneth. Janet spent her childhood in Montpelier until her parents moved the family to Pocatello. Janet attended and graduated from Pocatello High School in 1956. Although Janet did not attend Idaho State University, she spent many hours there socializing with her friends. She was attending a dance at ISU with her cousin LaRae when she was spotted by an ISU student name William Poncia. Bill was quickly smitten with Janet and soon the two started dating. They were married on September 2, 1960 at the Wright Community Church in Boise, Idaho. They made their home in Boise and spent the first years of their marriage camping, visiting Bill’s uncle Ed in Lowman and playing cards with their friends. Janet worked for the phone company when she and Bill were first married, but she was able to “retire” early!! Janet created a loving home to welcome two children, Gary Clifford, born in March of 1967 and Lisa Marie, Born in December of 1968. Janet was an amazing cook. Everyone looked forward to her parties knowing it would be a feast. Her specialty was baked goods, including pies, cakes and of course breads. Janet worked at Garfield Elementary School while the kids attended school. Later, she worked part-time at Grizzly Bear Pizza. Janet’s real talent was being an amazing friend and bringing people together. She joined the Epslon Sigma Alpha sorority who performed philanthropic activities around town. The sorority built friendships that have lasted a lifetime. Janet was also an accomplished bowler. She bowled on a Friday morning league at 20th Century Lanes for years and loved her morning bowling and lunch afterwards with the girls. Janet’s friends meant the world to her, but the real joy in her life were her five grandchildren. Gary’s three children, Courtney, Hailey and Ryan and Lisa’s two children, Kailyn and Mitchell. Janet also had two great-grandchildren, Courtney’s son Cooper and Kailyn’s daughter Adeline. From the start, Grandma Janet made sure she was involved in every activity, school dance and life event that surrounded the grandkids. They knew they could count on Grandma to be there for them. Everyone knew they could count on Janet. Whether they needed a shoulder to cry on, a friendly smile, a good meal or a hug. She loved to give hugs to people, even if she was just meeting them for the first time. Janet will be missed by so many. She touched people’s lives in a way that makes it hard to let go. On Sunday, February 28, 2021, at the age of 82, Janet joined her parents and her sister Joann in heaven.
The link for livestreaming of the service is: https://my.gather.app/remember/janet-poncia
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