Janice Marie Culver

Janice Porter Culver

Janice was born in Bardstown, KY, later moving with her mother and seven siblings to Daytona Beach, FL. She attended St. Paul’s School graduating in 1959 in the Quonset hut (now located at Prince of Peace Catholic Church). She was a member of the last graduating class prior to Fr. Lopez High School opening on Madison Ave. and St. Paul’s becoming an elementary school. 

Everyone knew she had a love for all things Elvis. This love affair with the “King” began on August 9,1956 at his performance at the Peabody Auditorium in Daytona Beach, FL. On this night she got a kiss on the cheek from Elvis himself, she was hooked from this moment forward. Throughout her life she saw him perform live on five different occasions. In her home, she had a room filled with Elvis’s memorabilia, and every holiday season she added an Elvis themed Christmas Tree. As you can imagine, she knew the words to every one of his songs. 

While Elvis was her dream, the love of her life was her husband Dennis, who she met at Mac’s Bar on New Year’s Eve. At midnight, she sought him out to get her New’s Year’s celebration kiss. At this moment she knew that this was the man she was going to marry. He became her handsome sugar-sailor man, and they were married for 64 years. They had four sons.

Janice was an extremely hard-worker and at times worked multiple jobs to ensure her children were well provided for. It was important for her that they attended Catholic School and that they had braces which was a rarity in this era. A significant part of her working career (over 17 years) was spent working for Chapman S. Root (of the Root Company and owner of the Coca-Cola Bottling Co.). She began working for him at the Ridgewood Hotel later transferring to the Pump House East Restaurant. This restaurant was cherished by the fine dining crowd. When this restaurant was closed, she was asked to serve in a management capacity at the Hilton Rooftop Restaurant in Daytona Beach Shores. Here, she served in several leadership roles, and under her guidance, the restaurant flourished and became THE place to go for all special occasions and it was a revered establishment for local and visiting celebrities. Later she worked for her nephew at Realty Pros Assured in Ormond Beach, FL where she was affectionately called Aunt Janice by many. 

As a young mother, she served on the PTA at St. Paul’s School in addition to leading a cheer squad and establishing a Girl Scout Troop which soon became the largest in the area. She, along with her co-leaders, planned many special outings for the troop. One trip stands out among the others. The troop spent the weekend camping at Tomoka State Park. She had arranged with Fr. Andy from St. Paul’s to come out on Sunday and say mass and serve communion to everyone in attendance. He arrived to meet the gang on his motorcycle.

In addition to her role as a team mom, she also made friends with many other families at St. Paul’s and together they created special memories and lifetime friendships. Many weekends were spent water skiing at Wildcat Lake, trips to Six-Gun Territory, and fishing and surfing in Ponce Inlet. 

Janice had a knack for having fun and enjoying time with family and friends. One of her favorite hobbies was participating in games of chance. She took every opportunity to travel, go on cruises, take road trips, and the occasional trip to Las Vegas. She also shared this love with special family members. On these outings, Janice made friends wherever she went, and some kept in touch with her for years after meeting her. Many people loved their time with Janice because of her true authenticness and her southern humor as she loved a good joke. Janice also loved to dance and sing. While she wasn’t a great singer, you didn’t notice this as you were inspired by her energy and love among other things. She will definitely be missed by all. 

Her four boys were tough like her, and they played many different sports. While she had a heavy work schedule she rarely missed an opportunity to cheer them on. At these games, she was extremely vocal often challenging the umpires, referees bad calls. 

Janice is predeceased in death by her son Douglas, two brothers, and one sister. She is survived by her husband of 64 years, Dennis Sr., and her three sons, seven grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, four sisters, and numerous nieces and nephews, cousins and close family and friends, local, in KY and WI. Janice loved all things family and thrived on hosting gatherings so everyone could be together. She was truly the matriarch. 

The family wishes to extend a special THANK YOU to all who supported and helped care for Janice during her battle with cancer and her other medical conditions. Her last spoken words were “I Love You!”. She meant that for you.

 In lieu of flowers, please go to confession and attend mass. 

A Gathering of Family and Friends will be held at Pinello Funeral Home, 1036 Derbyshire Road, Daytona Beach, FL 32117 on Saturday, December 14, 2024, at 3:00 PM. Immediately following you are invited to join the family for refreshments and conversation at location to be announced at the service.

A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at The Basilica of St Paul Catholic Church in Daytona Beach on Saturday, December 21, 2024 at 11:00AM with Inurnment to follow at Volusia Memorial Park in Ormond Beach, FL.  

God Bless!

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