Feb. 25, 1947 – Dec. 13, 2024
Janice Marie Halaschak was called to be with the angels on Dec. 13. Born in South Bend on Feb. 25, 1947, to William and Helen (Kurdys) Kirsch, Jan was a lifelong Catholic who dedicated herself to her family, teaching and preparing a thousand or more third graders for their First Holy Communion at St. Paul Catholic School in Valparaiso and Saints Peter & Paul School in Merrillville. She had a bachelor’s in education from Ball State University and a master's in elementary education from Purdue University. She was a member of the Delta Zeta Sorority.
Married for 55 years to Andrew (Ike) Halaschak, together they raised three children, Melissa (Jeffrey), Brian (Amy) and Michael (Megan). While Jan did not have a biological sibling, her sister is Cecilia (Cissy) Dillard, whom she met in 1976 when she moved her family to Glenwood Street in Portage. In 2017, Ike and Jan moved fulltime into their Nyona Lake cottage where they enjoyed many friendships and a warm sense of community.
Jan loved to spend time with her family, which included 11 grandchildren: Sean (Leslie), Shea and Alexander Hicks; Abigail, Victoria, Andrew, Nicholas and Marissa Halaschak; and Ava, Adeline and Isaac Halaschak. Her great-grandchildren are Sophia, Madelyn, Emma, Isabella, Everett, Tatum and Lane.
Known to most as Jan, her family called her The Voice from the Bedroom, as she would keep tabs on the household after she retired for the night. She also earned the moniker Dr. Jan after accurately diagnosing many illnesses of friends and family.
Jan loved shopping, reading, gardening, taking pontoon and golf cart rides, playing bunko and dimes. She was active in the St. Joseph parish in Rochester and the Nyona & South Mud Lakes Booster Club. She also volunteered at the Rochester food pantry.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated for Janice M. Halaschak at 11 a.m. EST on Friday Dec. 20, 2024, at the St. Joseph Catholic Church, 1310 Main St., Rochester. Visitation will be an hour prior to her service at the church. Rev. Anthony Rowland will officiate. The family will receive her friends from 5-7 p.m. EST on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in the Good Family Funeral Home, 1200 W. 18th St., Rochester. The Rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. EST.
Flowers are welcome or memorials may be made in Jan's memory to the Fulton County Animal Adoption and Education Center, 1540 Wentzel St., Rochester, IN 46975. Online expressions of sympathy may be made to her family at www.goodfamilyfh.com.
