June 13, 1941 – November 30, 2017
Jan Banks Wohl peacefully passed away on November 30 in San Diego following a brief illness. She was 76 years old and surrounded by family at the time of her passing.
Jan was born on June 13, 1941 in San Luis Obispo to John Vallery Banks and Beatrice Fisher Banks. After graduating from San Marino High School in 1959, she entered the University of California at Berkeley, where she joined the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. After transferring to the University of California at Los Angeles, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Design in 1963.
On June 8, 1963, she married Emil H. “Skip” Wohl of San Marino at St. James-by-the-Sea in La Jolla. They lived in San Marino for 47 years, where they raised their two children, Emil John and Kirsten Catherine.
Following a brief professional career at Xerox Corporation, Jan settled into domestic life as a devoted wife, caring mother and tireless community volunteer. She approached her role as homemaker with the vigor and focus of a corporate chief executive officer. Standing just over five foot, three inches tall, she was aptly named “The Tower of Power” by family because of her perfectionism and gracefully decisive nature. A devoted daughter and friend to those in need, she had a strong sense of duty to care for those who were ill or required assistance toward the end of their lives. Her home was always open for cocktails or dinner, and many of her children’s friends still consider her as a second mother.
Among her many talents, Jan was simply masterful in the kitchen. Few home cooks of her generation could match her culinary abilities, and her dinner parties and holiday gatherings were presented with consummate elegance. When she privately published a cookbook consisting of hundreds of her recipes, she wrote that preparing a meal was her favorite way of expressing love for family and friends.
Jan devoted many years serving various San Marino and Pasadena community organizations, including the Junior League of Pasadena, where she advocated on behalf of children with learning disabilities, eventually establishing special education programs at local public schools. A lifelong student of art history, her favorite volunteer role was serving as a docent at the Huntington Library, where she conducted tours for students ranging from elementary school to college. She took pride in inspiring young people to appreciate the beauty and history of the works displayed in the Huntington Art Collections.
She was also an avid reader who would complete hundreds of books each year, ranging from scholarly art history works to literary and romantic fiction. She was perhaps most content with a good book followed by an afternoon nap.
A world traveler who enjoyed trips with her immediate family, parents, sisters and close friends, Jan was renowned for her precise and exhaustively researched travel itineraries. Thanks to her detailed efforts, Jan’s travel partners could always count on visiting the best new restaurants, hotels or attractions in any given city, and she would then thoughtfully document each trip in an album for all to share.
Wonderfully eloquent in writing and conversation, Jan expressed herself beautifully and was known for her sharp wit and fabulous laugh. After a severe stroke tragically impaired her ability to communicate over her final 12 years, Jan’s physical limitations never diminished her fierce approach to life. She was an avid football fan, and fall Saturdays were spent watching her beloved Cal Bears, Michigan Wolverines and USC Trojans on the gridiron. She loved hosting visits from her four grandchildren, spending time with her sisters, nieces and nephews at family reunions, and catching up with girlfriends from San Marino High School who would regularly meet to share laughter and stories spanning over fifty years of friendship. She will be missed by all who knew her.
Jan is survived by her son Emil J. Wohl of San Diego and his spouse, Caroline Rentto Wohl; her daughter Kirsten Wohl of Guilford, CT; her grandchildren Caroline Wohl, Robert Wohl, Max Turbucz and Lucy Turbucz; and her sisters Catherine Audi of Dearborn, MI, Becky Banks of Phoenix, AZ, and Lissa Banks of Norfolk, MA. Her husband, Emil, and parents, John and Beatrice, preceded her in death.
A small, private family service is planned for January 20, 2018 at St. James-by-the-Sea in La Jolla. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a small donation to benefit the Wohl Family Scholarship Award established by Cancer for College (www.cancerforcollege.org).
