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Boone — Janice Lee Schurman Wahab, 71, passed away Sunday morning, April 14th, at Glenbridge Health and Rehab in Boone, NC. 

She was born May 5, 1952 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, the daughter of the late Jack & Mary Schurman. She was also preceded in death by her husband, Harry Leigh “Bud” Wahab, Jr., and aunt, Joan D’Orazio. 

Upon her passing and arrival in Heaven, she gently fell into her loving Bud’s arms, whom she adored with every fiber of her being and whose eyes she couldn’t wait to lose herself in again. 

Janice’s family moved to Florida and eventually settled in Raleigh, N.C. where she worked at the State Department of Public Instruction in her youth before meeting her future husband on a blind date. She immediately ran home to tell her mother she was in love; a mere six months later, she and Bud were married. They moved to Swan Quarter, N.C. and later Scranton, N.C., where she would eventually work at the Hyde County Health Department as an office manager and then Hyde County Schools as a testing administrator. 

She is survived by her son, John Cole Wahab; sister Lynda Harris and her husband, C.M. Harris, their three daughters, Anna Hovancik, Melanie Coffey and Meghan Mixon and their husbands, Dan Hovancik, Shane Coffey and Garrett Mixon, their combined 13 children, whom she loved with all her heart, brother-in-law George Wahab and his wife, Mary Ellen Wahab, their daughter Brett Hargis and her husband, Mike, and cousin Nancy Preston and her daughter, Jenn Preston. 

Janice loved the beach, with Ocracoke Island and its Banker ponies holding special places in her heart. She loved her family and friends with a passion and, while her various illnesses constantly tested her body’s resolve, her gentle heart and kind soul never wavered. 

A private memorial service will be held at a later date. 

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the “Adopt a Pony” program with the Outer Banks Forever nonprofit (https://obxforever.org/adoptapony/). Individual ponies on Ocracoke Island can be adopted or donations can be made that will benefit the herd as a whole. 

Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.hamptonfuneralnc.com. 

Hampton Funeral and Cremation Service is in charge of the arrangements.