Janice Hall

Janice Marlene Hall (née Christensen; formerly Owens)

Janice Marlene Christensen was born 22 February 1935 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Samuel Darrel and Helen (Denos) Christensen. She was the oldest of 4 children. She passed quietly from this life on 11 August 2026 in Santa Ana, California at the age of 91 following a severe stroke.

Mom was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. In 1938 their family moved to Long Beach, California. They lived on Hoffman Avenue in Long Beach through her elementary and junior high years. Later, her parents built a home on 9th Street in Garden Grove where she spent her teenage years. Whether you called her Janice or pronounced it Janece or called her Marlene, she was always Mom to us. She would often tell people her greatest ambition was to become a wife and a mother. After graduating Valedictorian in 1952 from Garden Grove High School, she married our father Herschel Lee Owens on 25 April 1953 in Garden Grove, California (later divorced). Together, in 1955, they built a home on Sally Street in Garden Grove and raised their four children, Warren, Ron, Gayle and Alan. She was so happy being a mother.

Mom was a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was a gentle giant in the gospel. Always serving, always leading by example. Her faith was not simply something she believed, it was something she lived through service, her devotion to family and the way she cared for others. She attended church each Sunday to renew her covenants with the Lord. She loved to sing the hymns with her beautiful alto voice. Mom served in various positions throughout the years: teacher, Young Women’s advisor, Primary President, Relief Society President and Newport Beach Temple Worker for almost 20 years. She loved serving in her callings and loved the people she served with. The relationships she had with so many throughout these callings remained dear to her. She was a faithful minister to others throughout the years, often bringing them baked goods, giving them rides to appointments, taking them shopping or just becoming their friend. Mom was a genuine friend; she loved her friends with a sincere heart. Thank you to her many friends that shared that love of our Mom. She was a woman who believed in being there. She was supportive, thoughtful, dependable and genuinely interested in the lives of the people around her. If someone needed help, encouragement, a ride, or simply someone to listen, Mom was there. She had a remarkable consistency about her. You could count on her, and her family and friends did.

In the 1960’s she became a Relief Society teacher, assigned to teach Cultural Refinement lessons. She told the story that when she accepted the calling, she was scared to death. As she began to prepare for the lessons, she told of the great thirst for knowledge that came over her. As a young woman, she loved school, she loved to learn and continued to do so throughout her life. Mom went back to school and earned her degree in Psychology at California Long Beach State University in 1973.

Tennis and baseball were Mom’s sports. Baseball was something she did with her Dad. They loved to watch and listen to the games. Her sons played baseball and you could find Mom every Saturday at the field keeping score for their teams. She loved to play tennis. As she got older, she followed tennis and baseball on TV, always looking to see if she had the channel to watch the tennis matches. Mom loved to travel. She loved experiencing new places, meeting the people and learning the customs of the countries she visited. She always brought back pictures and trinkets from her adventures. She traveled through most of the United States and enjoyed doing genealogy along the way. Mom would research the areas for her relatives and see if she could find them in cemeteries. She spent many hours in different genealogical libraries across the United States, finding her ancestors. Ancestors from the Mayflower, Quaker background or her Dutch family, Mom always wanted to know more about them. She had a deep connection with those she researched. One of her favorite places was the beach. She loved everything about it, the sound of the waves, the sand beneath her feet and the smell of the ocean air. She loved it so much, that she kept a beach chair in the trunk of her car, just in case she found a little time to go and take it all in. She spent many days camping at San Onofre State Beach where the kids and grandkids were encouraged to come spend time. Grandkids soon learned how special the beach was to them also. She loved the local beaches in Southern California. When she had the chance to go to Hawaii, she fell in love with the beach experience all over again.

Mom had a way of bringing people together through food. She was famous for her potato salad, deviled eggs and BBQ sauce. Family and friends were always delighted when she came through the door with one of them in hand. Her potato salad became more than a recipe; it became one of those special things people will always associate with Grandma Janice. Mom loved to cook and bake. No Christmas was complete unless you received a box of her Christmas goodies. As a young mom, she mastered the art of decorating cakes. People often asked her to make and decorate a cake for birthdays and weddings. Our kitchen always had cakes on the counters and frosting stored in the fridge. We got into a lot of trouble stealing Mom’s buttercream frosting out of the fridge and putting it on graham crackers, thus all of us learned how to use a frosting bag.

She loved making things for the people she loved. While she never claimed to be creative, she could follow a recipe or a pattern to her level of impeccable perfection. Mom was a beautiful seamstress. Memories of going to bed at night and hearing the sewing machine going, only to wake up the next morning to a new shirt or dress for school hanging in the doorway, ready to wear for school, happened often. She learned to knit as a young girl during World War II, knitting patchwork blocks that were used to make blankets for wounded soldiers. While traveling in the south, she learned the art of smocking and became a beautiful smocker. Mom was a master at whatever she put her mind to. Whether traveling or at home, she always sent handmade treasures for the grandkids: Easter and Christmas dresses, blessing outfits, knitted and crocheted blankets, knitted sweaters. Her hands were always busy making something that would become a treasured reminder of her. Mom was truly a great driver, and she was proud of it. Because she was caring and thoughtful, she often drove people who were uncomfortable driving or simply needed a little help getting somewhere. She continued driving up until the day of her stroke. She would joke that she was even driving some of her younger friends to their doctor’s appointments. That was Mom: helping, showing up and taking care of people.

Being a mom was her great aspiration but being a grandmother was something she perfected. Her family and faith were at the center of her world. Walk into her home and you would see her family photographs proudly displayed on her wall. She treasured the people she loved, and she made sure they knew it. She has 12 grandchildren, never discounting the two that made it to heaven before she did. Mom was always present for the important moments: blessings, baptisms, temple trips, graduations, mission farewells, homecomings and weddings. Her grandchildren always wanted her to be there, and she wanted to be there. She was their cheerleader, always excited about what they were doing and proud of what they accomplished. She was genuinely interested in their lives, she laughed with them and cried with them. Sending letters and notes that you could smell her perfume on before you ever read who it was to or who it was from. Grandchildren knew they had mail from Grandma before they could read. She prayed for them each day. She led by example and taught by wisdom gained throughout the years. They will remember her hugs, her smile her “Grandma Janice Green” outfits, jewelry and of course her perfume. They will remember the feeling of being loved, supported and encouraged whenever they were with her, be it at the beach, Disneyland, Hawaii, their place or hers.

Mom lived 91 years, and she leaves behind much more than memories. She leaves a legacy of love, faith, service, family and simply being there. Her family already misses her deeply and will be forever grateful for her example of service, faith in our Savior, the importance of covenant relationships and unconditional love that she so freely gave. Mom’s life was a reminder that a meaningful life is not measured only by the things we accomplish but by the people we love, the lives we touch and the times we simply show up for one another. She showed up. She encouraged. She cared. She loved. And because of that, her presence will remain in her family for future generations.

She is preceded in death by her parents, brothers, Raymond Darrel Christensen, Lawrence Ronald Christensen and Kenneth D Christensen, grandchildren Herschel Lamar Owens and Nischele Owens. She is survived by her 4 children and their spouses Warren and Ann, Ron and Julie, Gayle and Ken, and Alan and LaDaughn. She also leaves behind 10 surviving grandchildren, 30 great-grandchildren with 2 more on the way, 2 step grandchildren and 1 great-great grandchild, 5 step great-great grandchildren, beloved nieces and nephews along with their children and her sisters-in-law Linda Christensen, Pam Christensen and Margaret Christensen. 

Join us as we celebrate the life of our Mom, Janice Marlene Hall and the lasting impact she made on all those who were fortunate to know her.Saturday, September 19, 2026, 10am, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1800 San Juan Street, Tustin, Ca 92780

Luncheon to follow.

Thank you to all the friends who visited Mom and sent well wishes. Your love and prayers were felt.