Janice (Nichols) Powell

Janice Lee (Nichols) Powell passed away peacefully at home in Rolla, MO on January 23, 2023, at the age of 78. She spent her last week on this earth sur- rounded by her loving family. She was born on July 16, 1944, in Rockford, IL to the late Wilbur “Buck” Nichols and Ruth (Crider) Koch. Janice, her twin sister Judy, and older siblings Edith and Bucky were raised in Eminence, MO by their grandmother, Birdie Nichols, whom they called Mom. Janice graduated from Eminence High School, where she met her future husband, John Keith Powell. The couple married in March of 1963 and would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this year. They raised four daughters together. Janice developed a love of travel when Keith’s job with the U.S. Geological Survey required them to move 22 times, across several Midwestern states during their early married life. She spent countless hours making a home for her daughters in each new place. When Keith had extended assignments in Washington, D.C., Janice kept things running smoothly at home in Missouri. The family was able to join him there for one memorable summer, seeing the cherry trees blossom at the National Mall and visiting all the national monuments and museums. Between Keith’s work and traveling with family, Janice was able to visit 49 states (missing only Alaska) and six countries. The family settled in Rolla in 1970 and this gave Janice the opportunity to create the home she had always wanted. She had a passion for home remodeling projects and landscaping. An avid gardener, Janice was also an accomplished seamstress, quilter, cook, and crafter. She created beautiful stained-glass windows and crocheted baby quilts for all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

In her later years, Janice loved reading and sitting on her front porch, listening to the waterfall in the stream bed she had designed and enjoying her flowers. She took pride in the family tradition of making chicken and noodles and homemade cinnamon rolls for family and friends. Her grandchildren especially loved when she made biscuits and gravy for breakfast. In addition to her parents, Janice was preceded in death by her eldest daughter, Amy (Powell) Weida; her grandparents, Birdie (Strain) and Charlie Nichols; one brother, Eugene “Bucky” Nichols and his wife Irene; and two sisters, Edith Anderson Grusling and Judy Ferguson Uebinger. Janice will be greatly missed by her surviving family which includes: her husband of 59 years, John Keith Powell of Rolla, MO; three daughters, Angie Powell of New Bloomfield, MO, Kathy Powell and husband Brian Lindenlaub of Tucson, AZ, and Kerry Goyette and husband Joe of Columbia, MO; son-in-law Chuck Weida; seven grandchildren, Brittany Newman, Rachel Weida, Jordyn Gehlert, Kodi Gehlert, Bailey Goyette, Megan Goyette, and Wesley Goyette; and two great-grandchildren, Orson Newman and Graham Goyette. She leaves behind many cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends whom she loved deeply. A memorial service will be held Saturday, May 13, 2023 at 11 AM in the West Eminence Christian Church in Eminence, MO. All are invited. Flowers and memorial donations may be made to the West Eminence Christian Church at 17769 State Hwy 106, Eminence, MO 65466. Online condolences may be offered at www.nullandsonfuneralhome.com.