OBITUARY
It is with deep sadness and abiding love that we share the passing of Janice “Janni” Stafford-Foulke on July 22, 2026, at the age of 79.
Janni died peacefully at Lodi Memorial Hospital, surrounded by her family. Her faithful service dog and companion of fourteen years, Sanya, remained beside her.
Janni was born Janice Kay Cowan on December 27, 1946, in Portland, Oregon, to Jack and Evelynn Cowan. She grew up alongside her older sister, Penny. She later married Don Stafford, and together they raised four children.
In 1983, the family moved from Oregon to Lodi, hoping to raise their children near family. That same year, Janni opened a small in-home daycare with only a handful of families.
It became her calling.
For nearly forty years, generations of Lodi children grew up in Janni’s home. Some of the parents who first entrusted their little ones to her became lifelong friends. Years passed, children grew up, and eventually some came back carrying children of their own.
Parents called her “the Child Whisperer.”
Janni seemed to understand children at a level that could surprise you. A little one might arrive crying, angry or in the middle of a full-fledged tantrum, and somehow Janni could reach them. She was gentle without being permissive. Her home had routines, boundaries and expectations, but above all, children knew they were safe there.
She expected kindness. She expected respect. And she gave both freely.
Many of the families Janni served were teachers, nurses and other working parents. She never wanted someone to struggle simply to afford dependable care for their child, so she routinely charged far less than other providers. For Janni, caring for children was never primarily a business. It was something she believed she had been called to do.
Raising four children of her own required tremendous work, and Janni simply did the work.
She often held two additional jobs alongside the daycare. She catered home-cooked dinners that parents could pick up when they collected their children. Her lasagna and chicken and rice were favorites, but her cinnamon rolls earned a reputation all their own.
On weekends, she cleaned Mokelumne River School so her children could attend there.
Her four children also swam for the Lodi City Swim Club, with three eventually continuing the sport in college. Through countless practices, meets, school events and activities, Janni showed up. Again and again, she showed up.
Faith stood at the center of her life.
Janni joined Vinewood Community Church after coming to Lodi in 1983 and treasured the friendships she built there, particularly with her devotional group, the Sonflowers. She rose at 5 each morning to spend time with her Bible before the day began.
Her life rested on four devotions: God, family, friendship and kindness. She practiced them more than she talked about them.
Janni rarely judged people, and she had little use for long lectures. When one of her children, whether a daycare child or one of her own grown children, appeared to be heading toward a questionable decision, she had a way of looking at them and asking one simple question: “Do you think that’s a good idea?”
Usually, that was enough.
After September 11, when her sons Josh and Justin served in the Army, Janni placed a star on her front door for each deployment. Whenever they called home, she reassured them with words they came to know by heart: “I’ve deployed my angels to watch over you.” And when Janni told you she was praying for you, she was.
Those who loved her will remember her eyes. They were a soft, penetrating blue, and they could make you feel as though you had her complete attention. Children felt it. Friends felt it. Family felt it. There was warmth in those eyes, and acceptance, and a remarkable ability to make another person feel safe.
Janni also loved simple pleasures.
She adored Hallmark movies and watched them with the dedication other people reserve for sports teams. Christmas meant familiar stories on television, comfortable time on the couch and, whenever possible, her grandsons beside her. She could watch the same favorites year after year and remain perfectly content.
Janni retired in 2022 and moved to Washington so she could live closer to her children and grandchildren. But she never really left Lodi behind. Each summer, she returned to reconnect with the friends she had gathered during more than four decades in the community.
Her grandsons, Aaron and Oliver, brought her enormous joy. She cheered them on at Jiu-Jitsu tournaments and took pleasure in the ordinary hours with them just as much as the milestones. She tended her front garden with young Aaron and his friend Ruby, who approached watering the plants with considerable enthusiasm, and she delighted in watching both boys grow.
She was proud of the young men they were becoming.
Janni spent much of her life taking care of people. Her children. Other people’s children. Parents who needed help. Friends who needed prayer. Family members who needed somewhere to land.
And for nearly forty years, hundreds of children walked through her door knowing there was a place in Lodi where they would be fed, protected, corrected when necessary, encouraged often and loved without question.
That is a life worth remembering.
Janni is survived by her sister, Penny Schlitt of Portland, Oregon; her four children, Joshua Stafford of Stanwood, Washington, Justin Stafford and his wife, Mew, of DuPont, Washington, Jeremy Stafford of Renton, Washington, and Jannae Posey of Stanwood, Washington; her beloved grandsons, Aaron and Oliver Stafford; her son-in-law, Anthony “AJ” Posey, and his children, Junipper and Jasper Posey, who held a special place in her heart; and her devoted companion, Sanya.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Jack and Evelynn Cowan.
SERVICE
A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, August 22, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. at Vinewood Community Church, 1900 W. Vine St., Lodi, CA 95242.
Flowers may be delivered to Vinewood Community Church before 4:30 p.m. on Friday, August 21.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Janni’s memory to the Vinewood Community Church Deacons Fund or the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
Cherokee Memorial is honored to serve the Stafford-Foulke family.
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