WESTFIELD – Janice (Cronk) McGovern, 76, of Westfield, MA, passed away peacefully on May 9th, 2024. Janice was born on September 17th, 1947, to Dorothy and Stuart Cronk. Janice was raised in Utica, NY, and graduated from Utica Free Academy in 1965. She attended Albany Medical School of Nursing and graduated as a registered nurse (R.N.) in 1968. It was while she was living in Albany that she met Joe at a “mixer” her school was having with RPI. They fell in love and were married on September 13th, 1969.
After Joe graduated with his Ph.D., they moved back to Joe’s hometown of Westfield where they would raise their family. In addition to being an incredible mom and homemaker, Janice was a skilled nurse for over 25 years, many of those years working with her brother-in-law Dr. Robert McGovern, at McGovern Allergy Associates in Springfield.
To know Janice, it was apparent that she was unbelievably organized, impeccably neat, and no one ran a smoother household (including keeping Joe in line : ) ). Anyone could tell you, there was no better place to be than in her house, especially during the Fall, with the smell of her famous applesauce, or at Christmas time with her beautifully decorated tree and her wonderfully delicious cookies.
Janice was a devoted wife and mom to her three girls. She took incredible pride in her family of “girls.” She would tell anyone who would listen about her three daughters and seven granddaughters. Each year she looked so forward to her Aunt Judy visits, as well as the family vacation in Ogunquit, ME where so many memoires were made.
Janice loved all the dogs and granddogs in her life, which most recently included her little puppy, Lucy.
She will be incredibly missed by her family and friends. We take great comfort in knowing she is now reunited with Joe, her husband of 54 years (who passed away in October). In addition to Joe, Janice was predeceased by her parents, Dorothy and Stuart Cronk.
Janice is survived by her daughters; Julie Olearcek and her husband Patrick, of Westfield; Jenny Frombach and her husband Christopher, of West Hartford, CT; and Jill Bascomb and her husband Christopher, of Florence, MA. Janice also leaves her seven granddaughters, Caitlyn and Erin Olearcek, Emma and Courtney Frombach, and Amelia, Ainsley and Adeline Bascomb. Janice also leaves her sister, Judy Vance, of Rochester, NY. In addition, Janice leaves her brothers and sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, and dear friends.
In addition, the family would like to extend our sincere gratitude for the care provided to our mom by the staff at the Atrium and Beacon Hospice.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in Janice’s name to the Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org), or Girls on the Run Western MA (www.girlsontherunwesternma.org)
Calling hours will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 15th at Firtion-Adams Funeral Home, 76 Broad Street, Westfield, MA. Funeral Services will be Thursday, May 16th, at 9 a.m. at Firtion-Adams Funeral Home, with Mass at 10 a.m. at Blessed Sacrament Church (127 Holyoke Road, Westfield, MA), followed by burial at St. Mary’s Cemetery on Southampton Road in Westfield, MA.
