Janice Rae Gobeille's Obituary
Janice Rae Gobeille was born on January 4, 1950 to Morris and Sylvia Popolow in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where her parents owned a drug store. She had three older siblings Harris, Ritchie and Sharon, and grew up in a house with a rotating cast of pets, including her beloved Belgian shepherd, Val. When Jan was only fifteen her mother and sister died in a tragic car accident. After graduating high school, she accepted an invitation from her uncle, David Tidus, to come live with them in the Los Angeles suburbs.It was there that she formed a tight relationship with both Uncle Dave, his wife, Aunt Bobbie, and their three children, Jeffrey, Amy and Michael. After getting back on her feet, she decided to move to San Francisco where some of her friends from Philadelphia were headed. She soon found work as a bookkeeper in several San Francisco hotels.
It was in San Francisco that she met the love of her life, Allan Gobeille, who was also from the East Coast, and had also moved to California with friends. These friends became an extended family throughout their lives. In 1977, Jan and Al were among the first to get married, buy a house, and have a baby girl, Alayne. Their second daughter, Ann, followed in 1980.
Allan worked as a building inspector and Jan retired from bookkeeping to take care of her family. She loved staying home with her girls, sewing them dresses, taking them to special activities, out for treats, and visiting their surrogate grandparents Uncle Dave and Aunt Bobbie every summer. While the girls were in elementary school, Jan went back to school to complete her teaching degree, choosing this occupation, in part so that she would have summers off with her daughters. Jan taught the primary grades in the Oakland Unified School District for twenty years, retiring her career while teaching at Garfield Elementary School. She had a reputation for being a compassionate and engaging teacher and was well loved by her students, families, and the community.
She retired in 2011 and was thrilled to welcome her first grandchild, Abdu David in 2012 when Ann and her husband Samba had her first son. She soon became a doting grandmother and rejoiced in spending time with him. Her second grandson, Youssou Jeremy was born in 2015 and Jan and Al continued to prioritize the boys and their activities several days a week while her daughter followed in her footsteps as a teacher. It was well known to all that Jan cherished her close relationships with her grandchildren.
Jan faced three battles with cancer. The third one being the most aggressive and requiring the most aggressive treatment. Sadly, she passed away on July 23, from complications with her cancer treatments. She is survived by her loving husband, Al, her two daughters, Alayne and Ann, her beloved grandchildren, Abdu and Youssou, and a large extended family of friends all of whom will miss her warmth, generosity, and beautiful smile and her fablous hair.
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