Janice Dee “Jan” Cornell

Janice Dee “Jan” Cornell died on Jan. 28, 2025, at her home in Weiser, Idaho, with the sun shining through her favorite window  where she loved to sit, knit and connect with her neighbors. She was surrounded by her children and husband of 45 years, Herb Cornell.  Diagnosed in 2017 with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), Jan beat the odds! 

 Janice and her twin brother were born in Sacramento, Calif. on July 18, 1939, to Douglas and Margaret Savage Newcomb. She grew up in California and Idaho, and she graduated from high school in Salmon, Idaho.  

 In 1957 she married Richard Randolph, and they had three children. Together they travelled the Alcan Highway to Valdez, Alaska, set net fished in Bush Alaska, survived the Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964, and settled in Fairbanks, Alaska. There Jan lovingly balanced raising her family, helping to start an insurance agency, as well as gardening, raising pigs and chickens, and kenneling up to 19 Alaska sled dogs.

 Always a small-town girl at heart, Jan, never-the-less had an adventurous, creative life which included travel to many places around the world and all 50 States.  

 In 1979 she married Herb Cornell. They left Alaska and spent many years travelling around the country, helping settle insurance claims for people whose lives were struck by natural catastrophes. 

 After visiting friends in Weiser, Idaho, they decided it was where they wanted to retire. Jan was ecstatic to have a permanent place to call home, after their many years on-the-road. True to her nature, and as had been the case for she and Herb wherever they stayed for very long, she quickly developed loving relationships with new friends and neighbors, who became her beloved extended family. 

 Nurturing others was her trademark, be that through her unconditional love and listening, seasonal confectionary creations, baking, sewing stuffed dolls, or the cherished products of her lifelong, ever-present passion for knitting. Jan often commented that they had five kids of their own plus the ones “adopted” along the way, and she never missed an opportunity to affirm her deep and enduring love of her children, who visited as often as possible.

 As it was her wish to be at home with loved ones, the Heart ‘n Home Hospice and Palliative Care graciously provided her with the care she needed. True to her nature, she quickly connected with the nurses and staff, and they became extended family, too.  

 Jan was preceded in death by her father and stepmother (Douglas and Sylvia Newcomb), her mother and stepfather (Margaret and Edward Sargent) and sister (Margaret Ann Silva).  

 She is survived by her husband, Herb Cornell; her children Tamera Randolph, Fred Randolph, Ed (Tammy) Randolph, and step-children Chris (Sheri Wages) Cornell, Cara Cornell; five grandchildren Tyler (Carrie), Zachary (Whitney), Jordan, Breanna and Marissa; her siblings: sister Ruth (David) Stratton, brother Jim (Kathy) Newcomb; their children: niece Kari (Doug) Pike and nephews Doug (Bobbie Jo,  Hall) Newcomb, Paul (Janelle Ivie) Newcomb, Tony (Lorena) Stratton, Bob (Jennifer) Stratton; 7 great-grandchildren (Ben, Ian, Lucas, Isla, Gregory, Theodore and Sophia) and various extended family and special friends near and far.

 A celebration of life will be held sometime in May/June at a special place in Weiser, Idaho.  

 Expressions of sympathy can be left on her page at www.afterall.com (select “Idaho,” then, click “Obituaries” and in Search type “Cornell”). 

 In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in her name can be made to your local hospice organization or to The Idaho Pulmonary Fibrosis Support Group or the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation. 

 Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis is a rare, progressive, terminal illness of the respiratory system, characterized by the thickening and stiffening of lung tissue. The cause is unknown and non-smokers, like Jan, can contract IPF. The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation offers patients and their families resources, research and support groups. Donations can be made to:

 The Idaho Pulmonary Fibrosis Support Group, 101 Forest Loop, Eureka, MT 59917 or The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, 230 E. Ohio Street Suite 500, Chicago, IL  60611.