Janice Farnum Maquoketa Music Endowment

Students preserve late music director’s legacy A new endowment fund honors Maquoketa Community High School’s Janice Farnum A former student has launched an endowment fund with the Community Foundation of Jackson County in honor of the late Janice Farnum, director of choral music at Maquoketa Community High School from 1956 to 1986. The new fund will preserve Farnum’s legacy with an annual gift to the Maquoketa High School Music Department in her name, forever. “I think I can speak for many of her former students and say that she impacted us both personally and professionally,” says the former student, who asked to remain anonymous. “She inspired me to use my talents, and because of her, my life has been touched by musical opportunities and experiences.” Farnum was a member of the Maquoketa Professional Employer Organization (PEO), and a 61-year member of the First United Methodist Church in Maquoketa, where she served as a choir director. She also served as a choir director in Grundy Center, at First Lutheran Church in Maquoketa, and for the Mountain View Estates Men’s Choir in Mesa, Arizona. Additionally, she was an accompanist for the Velda Rose Methodist Church in Mesa.  Farnum was an educator who opened the door to music to all students, whether they were musically inclined or not, through involvement in choir and musical productions. “She had a very wide impact on the entire school,” says a former student. “I would guess that she involved almost half the student body in music in some way.” Beloved by her students, Farnum grew the choral program and organized popular annual performances, such as variety shows, Advent Sings and the Madrigal Feaste. Farnum also started a handbell music program that continues in the music department to this day. “She left a lasting mark on both her students and the community, which was recognized with her induction into the Maquoketa Hall of Fame in 2016,” says choral director Joel Hagen. “This endowment will help continue h