Janice Loudermilk Knuth, 86, of Terre Haute passed away on Friday, July 17, 2026. She was born on October 2, 1939, in a farmhouse near Lewis, Indiana (Clay County). Janice and her family moved to Terre Haute, Indiana, when she was approximately two years old, and she continued living there until completing her education.

Janice attended Greenwood School, Sarah Scott Junior High School, and Gerstmeyer High School, graduating in 1957. She acquired a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Studies and graduated Magna Cum Laude in August of 1960 from Indiana State Teacher’s College, now Indiana State University. From there, she attended the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, receiving a Master’s Degree in Social Work in 1962.

Subsequently, Janice worked as a caseworker at the Industrial Home for the Blind in Brooklyn, New York from 1962 through 1964. She then worked at the Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine, a part of New York University Medical Center in New York City.

In 1967 Janice married Roger Knuth, an engineering writer at RCA in Camden, New Jersey. The couple lived in Moorestown and then Cherry Hill, New Jersey for ten years, moving to Philadelphia, PA by 1977. At the time, Mr. Knuth was working as the Director of Reprographics at the National Broadcasting Company, which was later part of General Electric.

Janice worked for the rest of her career in Philadelphia. She initially worked at Episcopal Community Services as a social worker and then a supervisor, doing individual, marital and family counseling. She also worked with issues related to elderly people and the family as well as foster homes and small group home care for children.

She then worked as Director of Social Services at Wills Eye Hospital for six years, following which she worked as a Disability Issues Specialist at the American Friends Service Committee.

During the last ten years of her career, she worked at Pennsylvania’s Initiative on Assistive Technology at the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University. While there she coordinated training events, taught students at various universities, and individuals about various types of technology that help those with disabilities. She also did advocacy and helped individuals with disabilities find funding for assistive technology they needed but could not afford to pay for themselves.

During much of her career, Janice served as field instruction supervisor to students of social work at five different universities. She also served on various community committees and advisory councils, such as the Mayor’s Committee on People with Disabilities. Wherever she went, she was always a strong advocate for people with disabilities as well as others with differences. She believed strongly in full inclusion of all people.

As a person with albinism, she was one of the seven individuals who founded and developed the National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation and served as its president for the organization’s first twelve years. She also made contacts with similar organizations in other countries and initiated the formation of the Albinism Work Alliance.

In her youth, Janice was a member of Greenwood Baptist Church in Terre Haute. While living in Philadelphia, she was a member of the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia, where she served in many leadership positions.

Janice is survived by sister Carole Kirk (Earl), stepson Raymond J. Knuth of Stewartstown, PA, and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Roger Knuth, and siblings Jack Loudermilk and Joan McKee.

The family will welcome visitors on Friday, July 31, 2026, at DeBaun Springhill Chapel from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. A memorial service will begin at the funeral home at 1:00 p.m. with Pastor Rod Maris officiating. Burial will follow at Maple Grove Cemetery in Clay City. Online condolences may be made to www.debaunfuneralhomes.com.