Janice “Ja” Adele Parker, 60, was a beloved wife, mother, sister, grandmother, and friend. She passed away too soon on April 7th, 2026 in San Antonio, FL in her home. She was born on February 20th, 1966 in Davenport, IA to Fredrick “Fred” Jerome Sweetman and Janice “Jan” Adele Sweetman. Her greatest passions were spreading joy, being a wife, a mother and in the latter years a Grammy. She was truly a kind, nurturing, loving soul who was also tenacious, competitive, and funny.

She attended high school at Bettendorf High School until her family moved to Florida in 1983 where she completed her senior year at Leto High School in Tampa. She then went on to take a handful of Psychology classes at the University of South Florida. Her mother introduced her to her first husband Weston Sampson in 1983, who had a son, Christopher. They married June 21st, 1986 in Tampa, FL. Ja dove headfirst into being a wife and mother. In 1993 they had a daughter together, Jacalyn. In 1999 the family of 4 moved to Lutz, Florida which is where they raised their children together until they separated in 2011. Ja had many jobs over the years, as the jobs were a means to an end. She always strived to do her absolute best in anything she did, she went from working at Eagle Finance to working in Sales for Auto Trader and Cars dotCom to eventually working at Grow Financial. Over those years she was a top performer, winning best sales rep in North America twice amongst other accolades. Though she always strove to do her best at her work, the job she truly cared about and all her passion was for, was being a Mom. Nothing was more important to her than being the best mother she could be to her two children. The only thing she loved more than her children was sharing her hobbies with her kids. From bowling and cards, to cooking/baking and playing pickleball. She was quite the cook and quite the athlete. She loved to be outside enjoying the fresh air, sunshine and her children.

In 2015, she began dating Philip “Phil” Arthur Parker, the great love of her life. They married on March 27th, 2020 in a small ceremony in the courtyard of their home in San Antonio, FL. They lived in that home together until her last day. In the 6 short years they were married they made the most of their time together, traveling as much as they could while balancing work. Most notably they had trips to the New England area, a riverboat trip down the Mississippi River, and even flying out west to explore Arizona, Oregon, and Idaho. In addition to traveling they played pickleball regularly in the Tampa Bay Golf and Country Club Community. In 2025, she even competed in the Ace Pickleball Championship Series, won first place in doubles and qualified for the 2026 regionals.

In 2023 she was blessed with an additional title, Grammy. Which she declared, “the best job in the whole world.” She absolutely adored spending time with her grandsons every chance she got. Giving her infinitely more reasons to smile and laugh. She is loved by all that knew her and will be missed beyond measure.

She is predeceased by her loving Parents; Fredrick “Fred” & Janice “Jan” Sweetman, and her adoring son Christopher Sampson.

She is survived by her Spouse: Philip “Phil” Parker. Siblings: Catherine “Cathy” & Bobby Eatherton and Jennikae & Tom Reid. Children: Jacalyn “Jac” & Tyler Sloop and former husband and father of her children: Weston Sampson. Grandchildren: Fredrick “Freddy” Sloop and Charles “Charlie” Sloop

Service to be held at:

Hodges Family Funeral Home

11441 US Hwy 301, Dade City, FL

Visitation: 10am EST

Service: 10:30am EST

Those who cannot attend are more than welcome to watch by following this link: OneRoom

The family has requested that any flower pieces should be purchased through our local florist, which would be Bonita's Flower Shop of Dade City, FL.