Janice K Valdez

Janice K. Valdez passed away on May 26, 2021 at the age of 78. Janice was born on August 28, 1942 in Burley, ID to James Howard Boden and Bess Boden née Church. Janice was the fifth of seven children and growing up in Burley, she loved the open land and the animals, she especially loved horses. Despite the strenuous objections of her parents, Janice become a barrel racer and won many competitions. After her graduation from Burley High School in 1960, while on a trip to Mountain Home, ID, she met and quickly married a young Air Force airman named Earl "Jim" Hamm. Janice and Jim were married for 21 years, and they had four children together; Michael Hamm, Tonya Eytchison, Jodi Zandel, and Christopher Hamm, all of whom survive her. Janice remarried in 1981 to Gerald Valdez and she enjoyed the addition of stepsons Louis and Shawn Valdez into her life. Gerald passed in 2003.

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Janice was an easy person to love and quickly won the hearts of those around her with her stories and her sense of humor. She lived in many places in her life: Idaho, Utah, Iceland, California, and Arizona. She found her place in the world in Yuma, AZ and lived there happily for many years. She always loved to work, and her career in the transportation industry was a personal highlight of her life. Janice loved train and road trips and would often travel to Las Vegas and Wendover to gamble. Janice also loved to cook and her recipes for fried chicken and hamburger gravy were favorites of the family.

She leaves behind many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and her beloved cat and able companion for many years, Baby Boy Boots. She was preceded in death by her mother and father, James and Bess Boden, her husband Gerald Valdez, her brothers Claude and Richard Boden, and her sister Jeanene Nelson.

Janice’s family would like to thank Treeo Senior Living for their wonderful facilities and for going above and beyond for Janice in the years that she lived there. Additionally, they would also like to thank Encompass Hospice and The Terrace at Mount Ogden for their support and love of Janice in her final months.