Anniversaries: Stephanie and George Janicek
Stephanie and George Janicek
Stephanie and George Janicek of West Richland celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Jan. 28.
They met in 1965 in Kabul, Afghanistan. They were married Jan. 17 and Jan. 28, 1966, in Kabul. They had two wedding ceremonies, a legal Afghan ceremony, conducted in Farsi, which was witnessed by the American consul and constituted the legal requirements of the U.S. Eleven days later, they were married in a Roman Catholic nuptial Mass in the chapel of the Italian Embassy — the anniversary they count.
George is a graduate of Seton Hall High School in Patchogue, N.Y., and the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. (BSME, MSME), where he became an instructor. In 1964, he accepted a two-year assignment with the USAID on behalf of Notre Dame to help develop a Department of Engineering at Kabul University. After their marriage, George spent four years in the doctoral program at Purdue University. He designed and developed a vacuum sewage system while living in Rochester, Ind. He also served on the city council. They moved to Richland in 1978, and George began a 27-year career at the Hanford site, retiring in 2005 as a design authority.
Stephanie is a graduate of Richland (Columbia) High School and the University of Washington (bachelor’s in Far East and Slavic languages and literature), after which she traveled in Europe and then served in the Peace Corps in Kabul. While living in Rochester, she organized a March of Dimes chapter and founded a preschool and day care center. They served as presidents of the Rochester Jaycees and Jayshees, respectively. Stephanie worked at Hanford from 1980-2007 as a technical writer/editor, publications manager and publications specialist.
Since retiring they enjoy traveling.
They have three children: Jeff Janicek of Richland, Jennifer (Nathan) Ellison of North Carolina and Josh (Gina) Janicek of Seattle. They have seven grandchildren.
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This story was originally published February 12, 2016 at 8:33 PM with the headline "Anniversaries: Stephanie and George Janicek."