Janice May Golota Kleve
May 8, 1939 – September 4, 2019
Janice (Janina) May, 80, of Pembroke, MA, left this earth peacefully on September 4, 2019. The daughter of Sophie Golota and Francais Kapzynski, Jan was raised and educated in South Hadley, MA. Her parents passed when she was just 9 years old and she was adopted by Anthony and Adeline Golota. In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her brother Frank Kapzynski and sister Eileen Walz.
Jan had an incredible work ethic, something she acquired at an early age growing up on a farm. Her life exemplified diverse interests and talents, professionally and artistically. She was a freelance proofreader and editor, co-owner of a successful antique shop, and excelled in sales and advertising specialties. Jan even dabbled in radio, having produced commercials for on-air broadcasting and was the woman’s program director for a radio station in Holyoke, MA. While living in NH, she enjoyed a successful tenure at Digital Equipment Corporation. She moved to North Carolina in the late 80s and became Director of Marketing at Southeastern Eye Center, then thrived for many years as an interior design consultant at Furnitureland South in Jamestown, NC, where her business acuity and artistic inclinations intersected perfectly. There are smartly detailed homes, B&Bs, and Inns around the globe that reflect her fine eye for design and impeccable taste.
Jan had incredible energy, a keen sense of fashion, ingenuity, creativity, and a love for fine objects. She mastered gardening and floral design, photography, painting, and gourmet cooking. She designed greeting cards, silk scarves, delicate china dolls, unique Christmas ornaments, and taught the art of leaded stained glass. Her creations embodied refinement and grace - a reflection of her character and deep connection to everything and everyone around her. Her love of swans is yet another reflection of her spirit, as they represent beauty, grace and elegance.
Of all the places she resided, she had a special fondness for life inside the walls of Searles Castle in Windham, NH, where she lived for over 10 years. After moving to NC, she loved visiting New England to see family and friends - from Ogunquit to Scituate and points west - where a boiled lobster (or two) was non-negotiable. She approached a lobster dinner with the same meticulous and tenacious attention to detail that she applied to all her endeavors. It was truly a thing to behold- bib on, head down in earnest for two hours as she surgically mined every possible morsel, while we looked on in awe. Dinner would be followed by wine or martinis, discussing current events, sharing nostalgic stories, and always uproarious laughter. Jan was formidable as a host or a guest- a joy to be around. Sometimes silly, always sassy.
Jan leaves behind her two daughters: Donna (Realin) Farrington, and her husband Daniel Farrington of Scituate, MA; Cheryl Lee (Realin) Kuzborski, and her husband Chip Kuzborski of Plaistow, NH; her granddaughter Jaina Farrington; cousins, nieces, nephews, and countless dear friends.
The family would like to offer our heartfelt and special thanks to the caregivers at Bridges by Epoch in Pembroke, MA. Memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s & Dementia Association: www.act.alz.org/donate. A celebration of Jan’s life is being planned.