Janice Ann Flores

Janice Ann Flores, 87 years old, of Columbia, MD, passed away peacefully in her home at the Residences at Vantage Point on December 3, 2024.

Janice was born on the first day of spring at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Baltimore, MD to John Wesley and Mildred Agnes Ament. She spent most of her childhood in Baltimore attending Blessed Sacrament School (Grades 1 - 8) and Eastern High School (Grades 9 - 11). Janice was a Girl Scout beginning a lifetime of leadership development. Her family moved to Forestville, MD, where she graduated from Suitland High School in 1956 with honors as a straight-A student.

To fulfill her dream of becoming a nurse, Janice returned to Baltimore and attended the Mercy Hospital School of Nursing, graduating in 1958. She made lifelong friends with her classmates and excelled in her studies and nursing skills. She began working at Prince George’s General Hospital, in Cheverly, MD, when hospitals were still racially segregated. She committed to delivering nursing excellence, reducing health disparities, and respecting patient dignity by working primarily with patients of color. It was during this time that Janice met the love of her life, Dr. Felix Flores, a resident in General Surgery.

Janice and Felix married on August 22, 1959, at Mt. Calvary Catholic Church and settled in Cheverly, MD while Felix finished his residency. They started their family in 1960 and moved to Laurel, MD. Janice continued her work as a nurse, including with Felix in his private practice starting in 1965. Janice was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin, and friend. She was a lively, intelligent, and well-informed conversationalist. She gave life to her children, cherished the lives of her friends and family, brought to life every conversation which she had and was devoted to a life of prayer. In her was found the patience of Job, a Christ-like tenderness in every matter and a profound love characterized by her oft-heard refrain 'Love you more!' "

Janice loved nursing and kept her nursing license up to date until she retired. She became a full-time mother and homemaker, working in full partnership with Felix to make a warm, loving home for family and friends from all over the world. Janice had a later career as a successful real estate agent, merging her experiences of homemaking, love of interior design, and personal financial planning. She returned to nursing and managed Felix’s office in the last years of Felix’s surgery practice. Together, they retired in 2002.

Janice was an active member of the various communities to which she belonged. Upon graduation from nursing school, she joined the Mercy Hospital School of Nursing Alumni Association and regularly attended alumni events until 2020. Janice was a member of St. Mary of the Mills Catholic Church in Laurel, MD for over 50 years where she was a regular lector and taught CCD. She introduced the reading of Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation at the annual Thanksgiving Mass and made many of the vestments and banners during the ‘60s - early ‘80s. Janice was a member of the Snow Hill Garden Club for over 30 years serving in various leadership roles. She served on the Board of Directors for St. Vincent Pallotti High School in Laurel and the Mother’s Club for St. John’s College High School in Washington, DC in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

Janice became a heart health activist as an early member of WomenHeart – a national coalition for women with heart disease. She was one of the first trained as a WomenHeart community educator through the WomenHeart Science and Leadership Symposium at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. In this role, Janice was responsible for delivering dozens of community education outreach efforts on heart disease targeting women.

Janice loved the holidays. Thanksgiving was her favorite and her holiday decorating skills were extraordinary, meriting the Flores home a place on the Laurel Christmas Open House Tour. Her hobbies and pastimes included music, singing, musicals, reading, sewing, crocheting, crossword puzzles, macrame, woodworking, floral arranging, gardening, and watching Jeopardy, PBS Masterpiece Theater, and classic movies. Together, Janice and Felix enjoyed attending concerts by many of the greatest American jazz artists of all time. Janice was a lifelong learner about different cultures, ethnicities, religions, belief systems and practices, and advances in medicine and nursing.

Janice was preceded in death by her beloved husband Felix, parents John Wesley and Mildred Agnes Ament, her brother John Thomas Ament, sister in-law Cheryl Jean Ament, brother in-law John Michael Kelly, niece Maureen Ann Kelly, and nephews Eduardo, Ricardo, and Arturo Longoria. She is survived by Teresa Flores Strahlman (Scott), Daniel Marcos Flores (Monica Pourrat), Ann Marie Flores (Lewis Nashner), Patricia Lynn Staples Flores (Shawn Staples), Thomas Martin Flores (Carolyn) and grandchildren, Francisco Flores-Pourrat, Wesley Strahlman, Adelyn Sutton Flores, Matthew Strahlman, Clark Sutton Flores, and Emily Sutton.

The family will receive visitors on January 9, 2024, from 1pm - 3pm and 5pm - 7pm at Donaldson’s Funeral Home, 313 Talbott Avenue Route 198 West, Laurel, MD 20707. The funeral service will be held on January 10, 2024, at 11am at St. Mary of the Mills Catholic Church, 114 St. Mary's Place, Laurel, MD 20707. The interment will follow immediately at the church's adjoining cemetery. There will be a reception at the church after services. The church funeral service will be livestreamed . An additional service will be held at Residences at Vantage Point at a date yet to be determined. Please check this obituary for an update.

Donations in memory of Janice can be made to the Mercy Nurses Alumni Association, 231 Treherne Road, Timonium, MD, 21093, WomenHeart or St. Mary of the Mills Catholic Church . Online condolences can be made at www.donaldsonfuneralhome.com