A loss to the community

DEAR EDITOR:

On Saturday, Feb. 16, our community suffered a great loss. Janice Overstreet unexpectedly and suddenly lost her battle with cancer. In the 19th Chapter of Matthew, verse 14, Bible scholars find these words: But Jesus said, "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven."

For more than 21 years, Miss Janice loved and cared for infants, toddlers, and school-aged children in our community. Swainsboro was blessed to have had Miss Janice in our midst. Local primary school teachers will attest that Miss Janice's children were school-ready: at the top of their class educationally, socially well-adjusted, and a joy to teach. Other youth professionals may have noticed that Miss Janice's children had character. Though they were far too young to name the pillars of positive character development: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship, they practiced these traits daily. Miss Janice's children learned character lessons as they sang, "Clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere. Clean up, clean up, everybody do your share." But most importantly, each of Miss Janice's parents appreciated the fact that Miss Janice made their child feel that he or she was truly "Something Special," the name Janice chose for her childcare business. Each morning Miss Janice greeted working frazzled parents with a quiet smile, giving assurance that their child would get all the love they needed: unconditional love that would enable the child to become a probation officer, a speech pathologist, a pharmacist, a teacher, a law enforcement officer, a childcare provider or whatever other profession he or she may choose. Dr. Forest E. Witcraft eloquently expressed the mantra of Miss Janice's life when he wrote . . .
One hundred years from
now
It will not matter what
kind of car I drove,
What kind of house I lived
in,
How much money I had in
my bank account,
Nor what my clothes
looked like.
But one hundred years
from now
The world may be a little
better
Because I was important
In the life of a child.

Miss Janice will live on in the lives of the children she loved. She was a hometown hero, a fearless Christian warrior, allowing us to catch a glimpse of heaven on earth as she improved our community with love . . . one child at a time.

Celebrating her life, grateful parents,
BURLEY AND CONNIE
PAGE
Swainsboro

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