Janice Kathryn Kaiser (Thomas), 69, a resident of Dowell, MD, passed away on December 22, 2017 at her home.

Janice was born to her parents, William James Kern, Jr. and Kathryn Arvesta Whitesell, on August 10, 1948 in Bethlehem, PA, where she was raised.  Janice resided in Columbia, MD; Annapolis, MD; Mount Pleasant, SC; Chester, VA and most recently Dowell, MD.

Janice was a life-long learner and devoted her career to education. She received her Master of Science from The Johns Hopkins University in 1987. She also held a Master of Education from the University of Maryland granted in 1976. Her Bachelor of Science was conferred by the Pennsylvania State University in 1970. She graduated from Liberty High School in 1966.

Janice shared her zeal for education with countless students and colleagues during her 37 year career with Anne Arundel County Public schools. She was an impactful Special Education teacher at Severna Park Junior High, Northeast High School and Magothy River Middle School.  Her time as a guidance counselor at both Glen Burnie High School and Old Mill Middle School South were filled with inspiring stories, notably from her development and implementation of Peer Counseling and Peer Mediation programs. Even in retirement, Janice continued her work as an educator in the Charleston County, South Carolina Public Schools by helping with both job training and placement for special needs students and assisting teenage mothers in finishing their education.

She loved the ocean, shopping, reading, gardening and chocolate. She was always a fan of music, particularly if it was Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac or Rod Stewart.

Janice is preceded in death by her parents and her sister, June Kern.

She is survived by her beloved husband of 21 years, Robert Kaiser; her loving daughter, Erica Thomas; her niece, June Jones, who is married to Nick Jones and has two lovely daughters, Callie and Cora.

A celebration of Janice's life will be held on January 13, 2018 at 2:00 pm at Barranco and Sons Funeral Home (495 Ritchie Highway, Severna Park, MD 21146).

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Anne Arundel County SPCA at the following link: http://www.aacspca.org/ways-to-give/giving-to-the-spca or to the Special Olympics of Maryland at the following link: http://www.somd.org/give/

Online condolences may be made at: www.barrancofuneralhome.com