Alan J. Janik
Jul-17-2025Went home to be with The Lord July 17, 2025 after a courageous battle with cancer. Blessed husband of Maureen (Ryan) Janik. Loving father of Jessica, Melissa, Shannon, Kathleen, Michael (Alena) and the late Charity Janik. Bonus children Michelle (Tony) Cioppa, Jill (Shane) Baes and James (Mary Pirog) Chapman. Caring grandpa of Riley and Myla Janik, Ian, Aidan, Nathan and Owen Cioppa, Savina and Miura Baes. Brother of William, Ingrid, Thomas and Jane. Alan was a talented musician. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held August 2 at 10:30 at St. Stephens Church, 2100 Baseline Rd.
Alan was a wonderful friend and mentor. I loved chatting with him about guitars and music and sharing countless emails about gear and life. He was a great encouragement, especially to me and my daughter Abby. She played a song of his “Serenity” that he wrote and he loved it so much he bought her a Rachmaninov cd which she still listens to all the time. She wants to be a musician and he always saw something special in her. Alan loved music, guitars and most of all Jesus and his family. His optimism for life and great faith are lessons to cherish and emulate. My family will miss him greatly but we are blessed to have known him.
SteveBudnack
Aug-02-2025 | Grand Island, NY | FriendI'm so sorry that Alan has left us. He was a man of boundless curiosity, and a good friend. During our many basement jam sessions, Alan helped me to improve my musical knowledge and skills, while he protested all along that he was not my teacher. We laughed, we fought, we jammed, and it was wonderful fun. Rest easy, sir. We will miss you.
BruceSmall
Jul-29-2025 | Clarence, NY | Friend
I served with Alan at Camp Khon Kaen in Thailand as part of the 569th Transportation Company. About 130 of us were stationed there, right in the middle of the country. Most of the company—including Alan—had come over from Maryland by transport ship. I was one of the first replacements, and Alan was a big help in getting me settled into this wild and unfamiliar place. Alan’s closest friend was Creiger, and together they manned a 5-ton truck used to haul bombs, landmines, and—on occasion—beer to the Air Force bases along the Mekong River, mainly Udorn and NKP. The roads were rough gravel tracks, and our convoys would travel up in long lines, stay overnight, then race back to camp. Those return trips often turned into reckless competitions. I still remember pulling into a rest stop once, only for Janik to point out that I’d lost my trailer. The road had been so rough—and I was going so fast—that the trailer bounced off my hitch into a rice paddy five miles back. We were part of the top-secret Operation Igloo White, hauling specialized listening-device landmines used to monitor the Ho Chi Minh Trail. These devices were transported in pressurized containers wired to a warning system in our truck cabs. If the red light came on, we were supposed to stop immediately and run for cover. Most of the time it was a false alarm and a technician would reset it. On one of Alan’s trips, the light triggered five times. Later, Alan admitted he eventually got tired of it and simply disconnected the device. What stays with me most is Alan’s face—grinning, dust-covered from the convoys we ran together. Those memories are still vivid after all these years, and I truly miss him.
DonDeschenes
Sep-05-2025 | Lacey, WA | FriendSend Condolence
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