The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
Elizabeth Janice Schelldorf, 90, of Sundance, Wyoming, died Tuesday, February 28, 2023, at Crook County Nursing Home in Sundance.
Memorial services will be held on Friday, April 21, 2023, at 2 p.m. at the Sundance United Methodist Church.
Janice was born on April 26, 1932, to Clyde D. "Scotchie" and Frances (Barr) Roberts in Sundance. She attended grade school in Sundance and graduated from Sundance High School in 1949, after completing high school in just three years.
Janice went to Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, for her freshman year. In the fall of 1950, she transferred to the University of Wyoming and received her Bachelor of Science Degree from there in 1953.
Following her graduation from UW, she and two close friends moved to Casper, Wyoming, to work in the office of Standard Oil. She worked there for a year before returning to Sundance.
Janice married her high school sweetheart, Jack Schelldorf, in Sundance on June 20, 1954. They were married for 57 years, until Jack's death in January 2012.
They made their home on the Schelldorf Ranch, five miles south of Sundance. They had three children: Marilyn, David and Nancy.
She enjoyed being a mother, grandmother, homemaker and rancher's wife. When her children were growing up, she was the 4-H club leader for Kara Mountain Kids 4-H Club, secretary of the Blacks' Flat Telephone Company and did the bookwork for both Roberts Construction Company and Schelldorf Ranch.
Janice went to work at Energy Electric in 1977 as the receptionist/secretary. She loved working there and became the bookkeeper in 1981. From 2006 until her retirement in 2011, she was the office manager and bookkeeper.
Janice always talked about her trip with her dad on the "Gator Bowl Special" train to the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida, on New Year's Day 1951 when the Wyoming Cowboys played the Washington & Lee Generals. Another highlight was attending a Dallas Cowboys football game at the newly built Texas Stadium in 1972 with Jack and David.
She enjoyed playing bridge and solitaire, baking, making Christmas candy and spending time with her dogs and cats. Her greatest enjoyments were her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Janice is survived by her three children: daughter Marilyn (Bob) Christensen of Gillette, son David (Linda) Schelldorf of Sundance, and daughter Nancy (Jim) Long of Gillette; grandchildren: Mark Christensen, Julie (James) Innes, Marci Christensen, Angela (Trevor) Osborn, James Christensen, Stacy Schelldorf, Hannah Schelldorf, Joshua Long and Briana Long; eleven great-grandchildren: Pierce Christensen, Parker Christensen, Charlie Christensen, Olivia Christensen, Harlan Innes, Griffin Innes, Otis Innes, Clyde Innes, Adalyn Osborn, Evaline Osborn and Ryan Schelldorf; and step-grandchildren: Donald Simmons, Jr., Shelly (Chance) McVay and Chad (Jennifer) Simmons.
Janice was preceded in death by her husband, John Carr "Jack" Schelldorf; her parents Clyde D. "Scotchie" and Frances Roberts; and her brother, Alan Roberts.
A memorial has been established to purchase a resident lift to aid the Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) at the nursing home in Sundance.