Jan C. Parisi

Jan C. Parisi, age 67, of Middletown, DE, passed away on Saturday, September 28, 2019.

Born in Lancaster, PA on June 8, 1952, she was a daughter of the late Robert Wellington and Mary Jane (Gross) Pfautz. Jan and her family moved to Newark, Delaware where she graduated from Newark High School in 1970.  She went on to complete her degree in Sociology from the University of Delaware in 1974.

Her early professional life was spent in social services and was dedicated to working with those with physical and intellectual challenges as well as addiction and substance abuse recovery struggles.  She furthered her lifelong passion of helping people by returning to pursue her nursing degree which she proudly earned in 2012 at the age of 60.  Jan worked as a psychiatric nurse for the remainder of her professional career.

Jan loved to embrace her free time away from work with many hobbies:  gardening (roses were her favorites), planting many hydrangeas around her yard, crafting, cooking and baking.  She was a big holiday fan, decorating the house extensively, making lots of cookies, watching Hallmark Christmas movies and preparing for Halloween with spooky decorations, crafts and treats.  Jan loved animals and always had at least one four-legged friend in the house.  She loved traveling to New England, camping and the beach.  Spending time with family, playing games and working on crossword puzzles together were favorite parts of her life.  She was deeply loved and will be missed immeasurably.  

Jan is survived by her loving husband of 8 years, Joseph Parisi; children, Christopher Jones and Samantha Dryden (Wade); step-daughters, Jennifer Jeffers (Chris), Kimberly Chen (Bob) and April Carter; sister, Susan Coffing; and faithful 4-legged companion, Sophie.

A visitation for family and friends will be held from 10 am until 11 am on Saturday, October 5, 2019, at Spicer-Mullikin Funeral Home, 275 East Main Street, Middletown, DE, where a memorial service will begin at 11 am. Interment will be held privately.

Flowers are welcome or memorial contributions may be made in Jan’s memory to the American Cancer Society, 92 Reads Way, Suite 205, New Castle, DE 19720.