Janice Catherine Cooke-Wright, 58 years young, passed away peacefully in Sarasota, Florida, on December 30, 2022, following a long illness. Janice (Jan), a brilliant and talented musician, was born on December 5, 1964, to parents Morrison and Lois Cooke in Louisville, Kentucky. After graduating from duPont Manual High School and the Youth Performing Arts School (YPAS) in 1982, she went on to study church music/organ and voice at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, and then transferred to The Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida in 1984, where she received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Special Education. After graduating, she started her first job with the Santa Rosa County School District in Florida as a special education teacher, kickstarting a 30-year career as an exceptional, caring teacher and administrator in the field of special education. Later she taught in Wakulla County Schools (near Tallahassee) and beginning in 1997, was a devoted educator in Sarasota County Schools for more than 21 years. In 1992, Janice met Robert (Rob) Wright in Tallahassee. They married in 1994 and went on to raise his daughter/her stepdaughter Kendall Wright. Jan later embraced her role as “Ammi” to their two grandchildren Avery and Gavin, helping them develop a love of music. Jan was an avid Kentucky Wildcats college basketball fan and annually honored her home state by hosting a Kentucky Derby Day Celebration at her and Rob’s home in Sarasota. In 2018, Jan retired from the Sarasota County School District. As a gifted pianist who could recreate any tune she heard, she spent many hours playing the piano. She also enjoyed singing and playing handbells in her church choir at St. Margaret of Scotland Episcopal Church in Sarasota, walking along area beaches, and spending life’s precious time with family, friends, and her devoted dog, Murphy. Jan was predeceased by her father, Morrison L. Cooke, and mother, Lois Swanson Cooke. She is survived by her husband Rob Wright, stepdaughter Kendall Septon and husband Patrick and grandchildren Avery and Gavin Septon of Denver, Colorado, and brother Douglas M. Cooke and wife Kathy of Guntersville, Alabama. A Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, February 4, 2023, at St. Margaret of Scotland Episcopal Church, 8700 State Road 72, in Sarasota, Florida. A committal service will be held this spring at Cave Hill Cemetery, in Louisville, Kentucky. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Food for the Poor, mailing address 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, Florida 33073, or online at https://foodforthepoor.org/, an organization Janice felt strongly about.