Janice SueJette McNair

Janice Suejette McNair, wife of Dr. Clarence LeRoy McNair was born November 1, 1936, in Cleveland, Ohio to the parents of Lewis Clyde I & Harriet Lee Smith. She was the second of four children, Myrtle Snyder (preceded her in death 2014), Lewis C. Smith II, and Evelyn L. Hardy (Ronald). Janice and Clarence were married July 29, 1961, and through that union had three children. She was a devoted wife, mother, friend and woman of God. 

Janice, often referred to by her closest friends as Jan or Janie, leaves to cherish her memory: her children, Darrell L. McNair (Ronna), Harriet L. Seymore (Ronald) and Jacquelyn S. Thomas (Terry).  Grandchildren, Ariel S. McNair, Austin L. McNair, Trinity S. Thomas, Maya E. L. Seymore, Nyomi C. Thomas, Kendal S. Seymore, Ashton R. Seymore and Jaden T. Thomas.  

Janice always put Christ first in everything she did. She joined St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church in Cleveland as a child and raised her family in the church whether it was in Ohio, Delaware, Florida, Oregon, Iowa, or Illinois. Her life was a living example of her favorite Bible verse, Ephesians 4:32 — “And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.”

After graduating from John Hay High School, Jan attended Kent State University where she met the love of her life, Clarence, and received her bachelor’s degree in Education. While living in Chicago, she earned a Masters degree in Education from DePaul University all while working and raising three young kids. Jan especially enjoyed helping underserved children and she enjoyed a long and lustrous career working with kids with disabilities and hearing impairments. Many of the kids she worked with always stayed in touch even in her later years. While in college at Kent State, she was initiated into Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. (AKA) in 1957 and cherished that sisterhood with her two sisters who are also AKA’s. But her gifts were not only seen through formal groups and organizations, she also touched people one-on-one in her daily walk of life. Jan never met a stranger and treated everyone as if they were the most important person to her. The pharmacist in Clarence’s medical building once said to her, “you are the only doctor’s wife who always talks to me.” 

As a passionate advocate for education and a special education teacher, Janice prided herself in helping her students turn their disability into working strengths. She cared deeply for her students, often talked about them at the dinner table, and thought about how she was going to help them to be successful. They clearly felt her love for them and as teenagers would come up to her in the mall, say “Hey, Mrs. McNair,” and give her a hug. Former students would often come to her home for dinner or participate in family activities. Endearing teacher, Jan received cards and calls from many former students even up until God called her home.  

Janie was a family oriented woman and instilled this love of family into her children. Even at a young age, she was known for protecting her younger brother, Lewis. If you wanted to mess with him, you were going to have to fight her first.  As she matured, what she loved most was talking with her children and grandchildren; she always wanted to know what you were up to and how she could help. Season passes to Busch Gardens in Tampa were common, as frequent trips to the park with the grandkids or with Clarence just to see a show were cherished and anticipated events. There was nothing she would not do to support her family - editing papers, quizzing you for the next test, or simply listening and helping you prepare for your next big event. Even though cooking was not her favorite thing to do, she always made a special effort to bake your favorite cake from scratch on your birthday. 

Jan was funny, creative, and knew how to make others feel comfortable. Whether it was communicating with sign language to a hearing impared stranger that she encountered or just talking to the person waiting in line next to her, Jan reflected the light of God through her warm spirit and smile. She knew how to make you feel good about who you were. In her playful spirit, she even started the ‘BBB’ club as an inside family joke, and designated herself as President and “The Beautiful One,” which she truly was!

Janie enjoyed athletics and listening to music. Sitting back with her head tilted and radiant grin, she loved listening to Clarence sing, especially when he sang the song My Girl.  She learned golf to spend more time with Clarence and they were also fans of all of the Cleveland sports teams. As a youth, her favorite sport was track and field and as an adult, she loved to bowl. 

Jan was Clarence’s everything, it was rare that you would see one without the other. Clarence would always say that Jan had the biggest heart in the world and that is why he loved her so much. Clarence routinely acknowledges that if it were not for Jan, he and the family would not be where they are today. She worked as hard as he did when he was studying for his advanced dental degree in periodontics and he often says she earned that degree right along with him.

In the words of Jan, she would say, I love you all!!  To our matriarch and queen, we say the same!  Rest comfortably and continue to watch over us. “Everything will be OK!”

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