Mary Janet "Jan" McGee, 83, passed away peacefully at the family home in the morning hours of Sunday, November 23, 2014 after suffering bravely with multiple chronic illnesses for the last several years. Jan was born Mary Janet Sheehan in Buffalo, New York on April 14, 1931, the youngest of two children, to William Francis and Cecilia Kennedy Sheehan. She graduated from Buffalo State Teachers' College in 1952 and accepted a teaching job, sight unseen, in Los Alamos, New Mexico. There she met her beloved husband of 58 years, Bob McGee, while participating in community theater. He preceded her in death on February 18, 2014. The family moved to Denton in 1970. Their union produced two children, Tracy McGee Jenks (Sky) and Timothy Andrew McGee, and two dearly beloved and treasured grandchildren, Abby Claire McGee and Sarah Elise McGee.

Jan was an accomplished seamstress and stitcher. She made clothes for herself and her daughter, created beautiful needlepoint pieces, and knitted and crocheted sweaters and bed coverings. Her most famous piece was her "school board quilt," a piece she would work on while she waited up for Bob, a school superintendent, to come home from late night meetings so the two could rehash the evening's events. Jan loved to read, practice her faith through devotion and Bible study, follow current events, cook, play bridge, and tend to and enjoy her garden. She tackled and completed dozens of challenging jigsaw puzzles that Bob glued and proudly displayed in their garage until they ran out of wall and ceiling space. She loved a good joke, especially panel cartoons in the New Yorker, and was extremely fond of animals, from the impish squirrels that stole from the back yard bird feeders to the geckos who scrabbled up and down the patio walls in the summer, to the stray cats who visited on occasion. She was a gracious hostess, a loving wife, an enthusiastic bridge partner, an ambitious cook, a lover of the humorous and ironic parts of life, and an inquisitive student of finance and investment strategies. She was also one of the worst drivers in Denton County.

Her family will deeply miss a wonderful mother and doting grandmother but she will not be forgotten. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the charity of your choice in Jan's memory. Cremation has taken place, and a memorial service will be announced at a future date. We would also like to express our heartfelt thanks to Nurses Karen and Johnnie and the rest of the staff at Odyssey Hospice, and to our mother's compassionate caregivers, Yakia, Lenah, Patience and Auleen.

A Memorial Requiem Mass will be celebrated in thanksgiving of Jan's life on Thursday, December 11, 2014 at 4:00 p.m. at the Church of Saint David of Wales, 623 Ector Street, Denton, Texas 76201, with the Reverend Canon H.W. Herrmann, SSC officiating. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you make contributions to the charity of your choice, or where you see need in your community during this Holiday Season, in Jan's memory. Cremation has taken place.