When I found out that a local Sugar Hill rece laughed and said that somehow her parents got wind of their plans, and her father had their mother packed and ready to travel with them. The three of them set out for Miami in her 1935 Ford Roadster convertible that she paid $85 when purchased. Her father bought her a present for the journey, a five-gallon drum of oil. Oil was more expensive than gas which was just 15 cents a gallon back then. With a cheeky grin, she exclaimed they had the best time on that trip.
Her husband Ray was a staff sergeant (non-cod there as a receptionist. They also lived at Fort Devens where she did payroll. The first job she had she made $15 a week as a typist. For the majority of her work career, Janice worked for herself typing manuscripts.
The Banwells moved south to Altamonte Springs, Florida from Massachusetts in 1970. After working for ten years at Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs, she told me with a mischievous grin that she quit the day she turned 62. She was out of there. From there, her passion for travel (she was a reluctant flyer who did her best to find another mode of travel first) took her to places like Bermuda, Grand Cayman Island, Canada, Washington state, and summers spent in Maine and New Hampshire.
In 2014, at the request of her son, Ray Banwell Jr, Ms. Janice Stetson Banwell became a Georgia peach. She moved into a cute little house in Sugar Hill. Her son moved to Georgia to be close to his daughters. Ray Jr. has now taken on the role of looking after his mother. Ray Jr. and his mother attend Buford First United Methodist Church on Main Street.
Ms. Janice is still in great shape for her age. When asked what helped her live so long, she looked at me and said that you don’t ever give up. You just keep on going. That she never let anyone or anything tell her she couldn’t and that this is why she always preferred to work for herself. She overcame several bad accidents in her life. Not to mention a serious auto accident in which their car that didn’t have seat belts rolled three times causing her to hit her head numerous times. Through all of this, she never gave up.
An hour quickly passed as we chatted. I thanked Ms. Janice and her son for their time. She said she was glad I came and invited me back. An invitation I gladly accepted. Ms. Janice Stetson Banwell is a wonderfully refreshing woman.
From everyone at The North Gwinnett Voice and the residents of Sugar Hill, we want to wish you, Ms. Janice Stetson Banwell, a very happy 100th birthday. A free-spirited woman who tells it like it is – you are a delight!
