Janice May Crosby Quaney

Janice May Crosby Quaney, longtime resident of Cottonwood Heights, Utah, passed away on April 1, 2024. She was 89 years old.

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Affectionally known as Muffy by family, she was born the fourth of five children on May 16, 1934, in Heber, Utah, to Janice Hyde Crosby and Kent Miller Crosby. The family spent the next five years in Basin, Wyoming, then moved to California in 1939, spending a brief amount of time in the Bay Area, before settling in Sacramento. Janice attended Sacramento schools until her last year of high school, when the family moved to Dos Palos in the Central Valley. Upon graduation from high school in 1951, she attended Brigham Young University, where she received her BA with a major in history and a minor in English.

While attending BYU, Janice met Robert Lee Quaney. They felt an immediate connection, but circumstances led them away from each other, and both went on to date other people. Upon graduation, however, they both took jobs in San Francisco and became reacquainted there, eventually realizing that they were in love. They were married in the Los Angeles LDS Temple on August 22, 1959, and began a wonderful life together.

Janice and Bob first made their home in Pacifica, California, and welcomed their first three children – Allison, Brett, and Kent – while living there. They then moved to Sacramento for a few years where they welcomed their fourth child, Jennifer. They returned to the Bay Area in 1971, settling in Concord, where Bob took a job in insurance and Janice became a high school English teacher, allowing her to share her love of literature and writing.

Bob took a new job in 1982, and the family moved to Cottonwood Heights, Utah. Here, Janice began teaching middle school English while also attending graduate school at the University of Utah to earn a master’s degree in counseling. Bob died unexpectedly in 1985, and, though deep in mourning, Janice continued her studies and completed her program in 1988.

With her newly minted master’s degree, Janice became a counselor at Murray High School while also teaching in the Educational Counseling program at the University of Phoenix. She retired from Murray High School in 2001, devoting her full attention to the University of Phoenix for the next several years. Janice loved teaching and had a reputation for excellence, warmth, and a wonderfully sarcastic sense of humor. Years after retirement, she often ran into former students and was greeted with enthusiasm and fond memories.

Janice was also deeply committed to her family and loved them all dearly. She was thrilled to be there to see three of her children marry, and over the years she welcomed 11 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren. She also loved to visit her siblings, and spent many wonderful summer vacations in California and New Mexico.

Janice was also an avid world traveler. With numerous family members she visited Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Alaska, and the Caribbean, and was especially proud of her time working with public school counselors in Cuba.

Janice was known as a kind and generous woman, and often opened her home to those in need – though she expected progress. She was an avid reader, loving everything from high literary fiction to the grittiest detective novels. She was a loyal friend with a curious mind and expansive heart, and always loved having a good laugh with loved ones.

A lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Janice found great joy and peace in her beliefs. She was also proud of her pioneer heritage and loved to show others the family homes and gravesites in Heber, where she will be interred next to her beloved husband, Bob, and surrounded by family.

In addition to her husband Bob, Janice was preceded in death by her siblings George Crosby, Jo Crosby, Ross Crosby, and Karen Powell. She is survived by her four children, Allison Quaney, Brett Quaney (Laura), Kent Quaney, and Jennifer Jacobson (David).

Memorial services will be held Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at 8170 Short Hills Drive (3425 E.), Cottonwood Heights, Utah. Visitation will start at 11:00 am, followed by the memorial service at noon. Immediately following the service there will be a light luncheon and memory sharing. The grave will be dedicated following the luncheon.