Janice Wright, a meticulous recordkeeper who guided The Washington Times’ classified legal advertising for three decades, died Feb. 24 at age 71.
Coworkers and family described Ms. Wright, who passed away unexpectedly, as an easygoing colleague who was professional at work and generous to her loved ones.
“She took what she did very seriously,” said Jud Almond, The Times’ director of classified and legal advertising. “The kind of work she did had a large impact on the lives of people who relied on those legal notices.”
Ms. Wright, known as “Juice” to her family, began her journalism career as an administrative assistant at U.S. News & World Report. She later spent 30 non-consecutive years working in legal advertising roles at The Times.
As a classified account executive, her final job made her responsible for publishing all legal notices mandated by courts and government agencies – including property auctions, government regulations, and required notices for adoptions, name changes, and divorce proceedings.
Her duties also included fact-checking submissions and following up with various parties to confirm publication.
Christian Wright, her only child, recalled that his mother sorted through roughly 250 emails a day from people seeking to place legal ads.
“I don’t know how she did it but she got it done,” Mr. Wright said. “She loved being there. The people she worked with were very endearing to her.”
In her personal life, Mr. Wright said his mother had an “open-door policy” for friends and family who needed a place to stay and would “give you the shirt off her back.”
At the same time, he said she was highly organized and kept all family records in a large accordion file folder.
“The biggest thing about my mom is that she was a very giving and caring person,” Mr. Wright said. “She sacrificed a lot to make sure everyone was happy and okay.”
According to her employment file, Ms. Wright held three jobs in classified legal customer service and sales at The Times from 1993 to 2009. Her family said she left during a period of layoffs.
She returned to the newspaper in 2011 and remained until her death.
“She loved working there, staying busy and learning new things,” said Mr. Wright, her son. “When she got the call to return to work, she jumped on it.”
According to her supervisor Mr. Almond, Ms. Wright accumulated decades of knowledge about newspaper classified advertising that has become difficult to replicate in today’s digital market.
“They’re pretty much dinosaurs,” he said. “She was one of those folks who understood the importance of what she did.”
He added: “These are things you’ve got to be very careful with, you need to make sure they’re accurate, and you need to follow through with proof that they’ve been published. “
Born in Harmony, North Carolina, on June 29, 1953, Ms. Wright was the fifth of eight children. Her parents moved to the District when she was a toddler and she spent the rest of her life inside the Beltway.
Relatives recalled her as an avid bowler who enjoyed traveling, cookouts, family gatherings and the music of Smokey Robinson.
Ms. Wright is preceded in death by her parents, Artis “Jack” and Louise, sister Jacqueline “Jackie” Wilson, brother Donnie Wilson, and granddaughter-in-law Jaelyn Arnold.
She is survived by her brothers John “Bro” Wilson, Sr. and wife Michele; Bernard Wilson and wife Carmen; Stevie “Steve” Wilson and wife Crystal; sister Deborah “Deb” Wright (Wilson); brother Tyrone Wilson; son Christian Wright and wife Frementsis; “daughter” Tyra Wilson, grandson Myles Wright; granddaughter Dominique Rivera and husband Mario; grandson-in-law Harold Stroud; great-granddaughters Haley Anderson and Sophia Rivera; great-grandson Blake Rivera; and a large host of nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.
Services will be held Saturday, March 15, under the direction of Stuart Funeral Home at Solid Rock Full Baptist Church, 7711 Walker Mill Dr. in Capitol Heights, Maryland. A viewing at 9 a.m. will be followed by the funeral at 11 a.m.
