Janice Ellen Borcherding passed away on September 16, 2020 in her home, surrounded by her beloved wife and dear friends after a three year heroic struggle with ALS. She was 71 years old.
A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date due to the impact of COVID-19.
Jan was born on August 10, 1949 in St. Louis, Missouri to Raymond and Violet Borcherding. She often spoke fondly of her childhood memories growing up on a farm in Des Peres, Missouri, a small town outside of St. Louis. After completing high school with honors, she attended Barnes Hospital School of Nursing in St. Louis and obtained her RN Certificate. She came to California in the early 70’s to visit a friend and fell in love with California, subsequently moving to San Francisco to work as a nurse. She gained a position at Stanford Hospital working with heart transplant patients and in the ICU for several years before working at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View as an ICU nurse. Realizing the Bay Area was becoming too hectic for her, she took a position in the ICU at Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital in Auburn and eventually moved to Nevada City in 1995. While working at Sutter Auburn Faith she met Laura, whom she would eventually marry in 2007. Jan was a highly skilled and respected nurse. She remained at Sutter Auburn Faith for 15 years until her retirement in 2010.
Jan was a competitive racquetball player, an avid cyclist, backpacker, and hiker. She loved to be out in nature. She often spoke fondly of her rafting trip through the Grand Canyon with close friends and her travels through Europe.
Jan was a spirited individualist. She will be missed by all who knew and loved her for her kindness and generosity, her depth of thought and perception, her great understated sense of humor, and her wit. Colleagues who worked with her through her career and her many friends had great respect for her intelligence, competence, and compassion.
Jan is survived by her beloved wife, Laura Wilson. Laura’s family became Jan’s family and she will be dearly missed by them, as well as by many dear friends too numerous to mention.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Raymond and Violet Borcherding and mother-in-law, Renee Grover.
Memorial contributions may be made in Jan’s honor to the ALS Association or Hospice of the Foothills. Much gratitude to Hospice of the Foothills for their continuous support during the last months of Jan’s life.
