Janice� Doretha� Rowland 80, of Fernandina Beach, Florida passed away Thursday July 21, 2016 at Baptist Medical Center/Jacksonville, Fl. She was born on August 7, 1935 in Appling county, Georgia, the daughter of the late George Washington Thornton and Nola Mae Carter Thornton. She spent her childhood growing up in Wayne County, Ga. where she attended school. She moved with her family to Jacksonville, Fl. She later met Lewis Melton Rowland and they were married on June 19, 1953. They made their home in Fernandina Beach in 1955 where Mr. Rowland was working with his brothers at Rowland�s Upholstery Company. She spent her time raising her family and assisting in the business when needed. She was a proud member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and was a longtime active member of the Lighthouse Tabernacle Pentecostal Church in Fernandina Beach.

Her husband passed away suddenly October 10, 1983. She went to work in the business and maintained her presence there until retiring in 1997. She was preceeded in death by her parents, her huband and her only sister Betty Jo Thornton. She leaves behind her three sons, Wallace and Michele Rowland of Fernandina Beach, fl., Larry and Terry Rowland of Rogersville, TN. And Nathan and Connie Rowland of Atlanta, Ga.; her daughter Arlene and Marty Scott of Fernandina Beach, Fl., her two brothers, Carroll and Harold Thornton both of Jesup, Ga. and Fourteen Grandchildren and Thirteen Great-Grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. The family will receive friends at Oxley-Heard on Sunday afternoon 1:00 PM until 3:00 PM . Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 AM Monday at the Burgess Chapel with Rev. Charles Leveritt , officiating. Mrs. Rowland will be laid rest with her husband in the family lot at Bosque Bello Cemetery. Floral tributes are welcome or memorials may be made to The Building Fund at the Lighthouse United Pentecostal Church 1111 Olive Street, Fernandina Beach, Fl.