Janie Carol Kuban
Oct. 12, 1959 - Nov. 18, 2015
FERRIS – Funeral Services for Janie Carol Kuban, 56, of Ferris, Texas were held Sunday, Nov. 22, at the First Baptist Church, 304 West 6th, Ferris, Texas, at 3 p.m., with interment at Ferris Memorial Cemetery.
Afterwards, family and friends gathered at the home of Janie’s mother, Carol Wright, at 514 S. Wood Street in Ferris for food and fellowship.
Janie passed away on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015. She had fought a long hard battle with throat and lung cancer, had undergone grueling treatments of chemotherapy and radiation, but in the end nothing could be done. Her final moments were in Methodist Hospital in Dallas, Texas.
Janie was born in Waxahachie, Texas, on Oct. 12, 1959, to James and Carol Wright of Ferris, Texas. She was a lifelong resident of Ferris, which she affectionately called “Big F”. In grade school, she was entered in the Little Miss Ellis County competition, and somehow won an award for congeniality. In high school she was a member of the notorious “gang”, a group of five high school girls who spent their high school years acting like five high school girls. When not causing trouble with the “gang”, she played saxophone in the high school band. She graduated from Ferris High School in 1978.
After high school, she married and had two children, Casey and Candice. Soon afterwards she became a single mother, and so she raised these two on her own. She managed sleepovers, getting them to sports and school activities, and generally put her children first in her life.
She worked in customer service at Brasscraft Industries in Lancaster, Texas. Weekends often found her country and western dancing at the old Crystal Chandelier dance hall in Lancaster. It was there that she was able to get a young then-unknown singer named George Strait to autograph her boot. In her mid 20s, she was stricken with Legionaires disease, and barely survived.
In 1998 she met Frank Kuban at a little league baseball game in Bristol, Texas. There was a spark there, and the two married in a simple family-only ceremony at her mother’s home on June 5, 2004. Vows were spoken at 1:23 pm that day, making the marriage date and time 1:23 on 6/5/04. For the next ten years. Janie and Frank enjoyed travelling by car, RV, or camper around the state, often attending music festivals. Summertime found the two frequently at the lake, swimming, sunning, and sailing. They were a part of a large circle of friends who enjoyed similar activities. She enjoyed these activities, but she also relished just sitting on the back porch watching the sun go down. And nothing could get her more excited than a good thunderstorm, complete with lots of lightning and thunder.
Soon grandchildren entered her life, enriching it further. There was nothing that could put a smile on Janie’s face quicker than having her grandson Gavin and granddaughters Alivia and Cydney hovering around her. Janie renovated a bedroom in her home to accommodate the grandkids, complete with bunkbed, toy chests, TV, games, and other toys.
Life for Janie was good, until a lump appeared on her neck in the summer of 2014. This was diagnosed as throat cancer. Treatment meant heavy duty doses of chemotherapy and radiation, which hit her hard and caused her to lose all her beautiful hair. Some progress was made, but not enough, as the cancer returned with a vengeance, and ultimately caused her death.
She is survived by her mother Carol Wright, husband Frank Kuban, son Casey Greene, and wife Amanda, granddaughters Alivia and Cydney, and daughter Candice Garcia, husband Jason, and grandson Gavin, all of Ferris, Texas, and stepson Joseph Kuban of Dallas, Texas. And of course her beloved dog Killer, also of Ferris, Texas.
She is preceeded in death by her father James Wright, paternal grandparents Orville and Ila Fay Wright, and maternal grandparents Pete and Lorene Miner.
A viewing was held Saturday, Nov. 21 at Green Funeral Home, 207 S. Wood Street in Ferris.