Janice Renee Baserga
Janice Renee Baserga
November 6, 1959-July 17, 2016
Janice Renee Baserga, 56, of Cumberland died Sunday, July 17, 2016, at Gosnell Memorial Hospice House. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February and waged a heroic battle for those last five months. Janice was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on November 6, 1959, the daughter of Renato and Jane Conrad Baserga.
Janice graduated from Lower Merion High School, Wynnewood, PA, in 1977; Mount Holyoke College in 1981; and Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine in 1986. She met her husband Jeffrey Milburn in veterinary school and they were married on March 22, 1986. They celebrated their 30th anniversary this spring while she was in the fight of her life. After graduating from veterinary school, they moved to Maine and Janice took a job at Scarborough Animal Hospital, where she continued to practice veterinary medicine for almost 30 years. She leaves two wonderful young men Drew, 24 and Forrest, 22 who both have known her limitless love through their most formative years and will always cherish the too brief time they had with her.
Instilled with a love of horses by her father from birth, Janice went on to become an amazing veterinarian, distinguished among her peers by her unmatched dedication to her patients. She was a consummate clinician with an unparalleled level of empathy.
Her lifelong love of horses transformed over time into an equally impassioned love of Golden Retrievers, starting with her first Golden, Sally, whom she trained in obedience. Sally was followed by Janice’s second Golden, Laney, who also excelled in the obedience ring, and then Cookie, who began the Celebrations Golden breeding lineage. Janice meticulously monitored, planned, and evaluated her breeding practices to produce many litters of beautiful, healthy, and trainable Goldens, many of whom she kept, resulting in the family living with seven of her own Goldens at one point. Janice was a committed member of the Maine Golden Retriever Club until her final days.
From a young age, Janice loved to travel, expanding her horizons throughout Europe and even to the then USSR. She recently travelled to Japan and talked of going back some day. She also enjoyed travelling closer to home. She talked longingly of spending summer days in Ogunquit and more recently having piña coladas by the pools of various Walt Disney World Resorts.
Those who knew Janice know that words will always fall short in conveying everything that Janice was and everything that her existence meant to them. She was a proud friend, mother, wife, daughter, and sister, and will forever live on through the many lives she touched in her brief time.
Janice is survived by her loving husband Jeff and their two sons, Drew and Forrest; her sister Susan Baserga and her husband Peter Glazer, and their son Sam, of Guilford, CT; her father Renato Baserga and his wife Beverly Lange, of Ardmore, PA; her mother-in-law and father-in-law Barbara and Harry Milburn, of Cumberland; her brother-in-law John Milburn and his wife Laurie Fisher, of Cape Elizabeth; her sister-in-law Jennifer Flaxman and her husband Paul Flaxman, of Hopkinton, MA; nieces Maddy, Emma, and Tily; and nephew Trevor. She was predeceased by her mother Jane, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2010.
A celebration of Janice’s life is planned for November 6th. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, 1500 Rosecrans Ave #200, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 (pancan.org) or to the American Cancer Society, 1 Bowdoin Mill Island, Suite 300, Topsham, Maine 040861240 (cancer.org).
Online condolences may be expressed below.
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