Obituary
Janice Miller Bliss, 84, passed away Monday 2/3/25 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. She went home to be with the Lord peacefully, surrounded by family. Jan was born in Saginaw, Michigan and was preceded in death by her parents Walter and Florence Gase, her husband Glenn F Miller (D. 1996), her sister Betty Rabaut (D. 2021), and her second husband Henry E. Bliss (D. 2023). She was the mother of Anne (Chris) Thompson, Tom (Stacey) Miller, John (Lucia) Miller; grandmother of Beth (Mike) Owens, Major Matthew (Erin) Thompson, Major Nathan (Claire) Miller, Katie (Mike) Bollino, Captain Mitchell (Lauren) Miller, Courtney (Spencer) Pelfrey, Kailey (Corey) Sexton, Captain Glenna (Captain Skyler) Standefer; great-grandmother of Emily, Cameron, Alida, Emerson, Miller, Morgan, Corbin, John David, James, Michael, Molly, Maeve, and Margot. Jan is also survived by Suzanne Bliss, Deb (Wayne) Kalish, Jackie (Luke) Olliff and their children, and Matt (Mikey) Kalish and their child as well as many nieces and nephews. Jan was a graduate of Michigan State University. She and Glenn moved to Winter Park in 1969 when Glenn took a leadership position at the Orlando Public Library. Jan was involved in the Additions program and once her children were older she taught remediation at Edgewater High School. Jan was a long time member of St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Winter Park and was active in many ministries. She enjoyed book clubs with friends and was the neighbor who took care of whoever might be needing something, especially a big pot of soup. But her biggest joy was spending time with her family. From her sister Betty and all of her extended family to her own children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, spending time with her family (especially in Williamsburg and Emerald Isle) made her the most happy. She found the good in everyone and, as Jesus taught, loved her neighbor as herself. A private memorial mass will be held at a later date. Donations in Jan’s name can be made to The Alzheimer’s Association https://www.alz.org/ or Friends of the Library Home – Friends of the Orange County Library System
Jan had nothing in common with the manipulative and disapproving Mrs. Ferrars from Sense and Sensibility or the abusive Margaret White from Carrie. She greeted every day and every person with a smile. Behind that smile was an ocean of love. Waves of love often came out of her as questions: She would ask complete strangers how their day was going or what food she should order at a restaurant. At the end of a flight, she knew enough about the person sitting next to her to write their biography.
She wanted to be connected with you. She held you in her arms. She held your hand. Later in life, as dementia chewed away at her ability to communicate, those habits became problematic. But those who knew her before the disease took over her mind understood that her actions were just signs that her heart was still in charge. And she was determined to share her love. Dementia be damned.
Dementia takes so much. It is the cruelest of diseases. But it could not take love from Jan. Nor our love of her.
Sitting with her in December, I held her hand. She squeezed mine and gave me a look with those beautiful eyes of hers (eyes that my wife inherited) that said more than words ever can.
Jan’s love lives on in her children and grandchildren. And they will pass it on to the great grandchildren who never had the chance to have the full Janice Marie Gase Miller Bliss experience.
And I will always be thankful that God blessed me with a glorious mother-in-law. Love you, Jan.