Janice Ruth Elizabeth Veal

Janice was born on September 14, 1942 in Esterhazy, SK; the eldest of three children born to Walter and Ruth (Heinsohn) Busch. She was baptized on October 4, 1942 in Beresina, SK and was later confirmed on April 21, 1957 in Christ Lutheran Church, Langenburg, SK.

Janice lived on the Busch family farm in Beresina, SK, until she was 6 years of age. The Busch family farm had a large orchard, tended to by her paternal grandfather. Janice and her parents moved to Langenburg in about 1948, the year her sister, Carole was born, and initially lived in the house where her brother, Walter now resides.

Janice graduated from Langenburg High School in 1960, and moved to Saskatoon that fall, where she began her nursing training at Saskatoon City Hospital. She graduated with a Diploma in Nursing from Saskatoon City Hospital in 1963. Janice remained close friends with several of her classmates, and attended their nursing reunions every 5 years. Janice always said she preferred working as a nurse in hospital-type settings as her patients had no choice but to listen to the nurses and follow the rules.

Janice returned to Langenburg in 1963 to work at Langenburg Union Hospital, as a Registered Nurse.

In 1964, Janice met Wally Veal while working as a Registered Nurse at the Langenburg Hospital. They were engaged and then married a few short months later on November 14, 1964.

Janice and Wally built their home in Langenburg in 1967 and started their family shortly after that, having three children, Susanne, David, and Trina.

Janice worked at Langenburg Union Hospital until about 1978, when she started her new and long-term role at the newly constructed Centennial Special Care Home in Langenburg.

Janice was an ‘old-school’ nurse who made sure her children knew how to make beds with hospital corners and worked hard to ensure her patients were well cared for. She even baptized babies early in her career when there was a threat that the infant may not survive.

Janice’s hobbies and pastimes included travelling with Wally to warm destinations and she continued to travel after Wally passed away with various friends. She enjoyed going on cruises; and her last trip was in 2019 to the Caribbean.  She also enjoyed camping, and was initially hoodwinked into camping by Wally. They started with a tent trailer and then purchased a hard-sided bumper hitch. After Wally passed, she purchased a self-drive motorhome and set off to take her 6 grandchildren, in varying combinations, camping to Carlton trail. She did this most summers for at least a decade. There were few rules when camping with grandma other than watching Indiana Jones movies, and she made sure the kids had the best time, making s’mores, among other things. Janice was an amazing grandmother. She was immensely proud of her 6 grandchildren and loved them fiercely.

Janice also loved gardening – flowers primarily, especially her treasured roses. She was an avid reader and loved being able to sit on her back deck whenever she could.

Janice was devout in her faith and cherished a last visit with Pastor Gust in early November where they shared communion.

Janice experienced several health issues, starting with a cancer diagnosis in 2019. She never hesitated to continue to move forward. She was always positive and committed to remaining independent in her home.  She would occasionally ask her children if they thought she was ‘circling the drain’ which then inevitably became a regular family joke, and resulted in everyone, including Janice, laughing.

In July of this year, Janice made the difficult decision to leave her home that she built with Wally, to move to an assisted living facility near Regina. She lived there for a little more than four months and met a few friends, even playing Connect Four on the rare occasion, even though she didn’t typically enjoy games.

Janice passed away, peacefully, the way she would have wanted, in the early morning of November 23, 2024. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her and will not be forgotten.

Janice was predeceased by her husband of nearly 42 years, Wally, her parents, Walter and Ruth Busch, Wally’s parents, Henry and Minnie Veal, Wally’s sister, Grace Rostad and her husband Harold Rostad, as well as Wally’s brother Denis Veal.

Janice is survived by her children: Susanne (Trevor), David, Trina (Corey) and grandchildren, Jake, Carl, Lucas, Laila, Alex and Chloe (Devon). She is also survived by her sister, Carole, brother Walter, maternal aunt, Lottie Stech, and sister-in-law, Janette Veal.

The family would like to thank the Langenburg home care staff and medical team, and the staff at William Albert House in Emerald Park for the care they provided to Janice these past months.

Janice left a hand-written prayer at her home, which is below and is called Granny’s Prayer:

Father, we thank you for the blessings of the night;

For rest and food, and loving care and all that makes the world so fair.

Help us to do the things we should, to be to others, kind and good;

In all we do in work and play, to grow more loving every day.  Amen