Blooming High School Honors the Legacy of Former Band Director Janis Stockhouse
Janis M Stockhouse, Blooming High School’s band director in North Indiana for 38 years, has passed away.
Janis regarded by the school as a legend has reportedly died. According to reports, she passed on the 23rd of December, 2024.
The family of the deceased announced her passing.
We lost my Aunt Janis unexpectedly the night before Christmas Eve, and it’s still hard to believe. To so many, she was a legend in the music world, but to me, she was simply Aunt Janis—the one who let us ride in her car on backroads in Wisconsin sitting on top of the sunroof, the one who never missed sending a birthday or holiday card, and the one whose home was always open. She believed in everyone and cheered for everything.
Our family is working on finalizing details for her services and will share more information soon. If any friends or past students have memories or stories to share, we’d love to hear them. It would mean so much to us to celebrate her life and legacy.
According to the family, details about her funeral service have not been finalized, and information regarding that would be made public in the shortest period.
One of her graduating institutions, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, has also paid homage to the deceased.
The statement released on social media reads:
Jacobs School of Music joins with many in our community to mourn the passing and celebrate the life of alumna Janis Stockhouse.
Janis got her BME in 1977 and served as Director of Bands at Bloomington High School North for 38 years before her retirement in 2019. She was an honored music educator–named Outstanding Music Educator by IMEA and Educator of the Year by Bloomington Art Council, to name just two—and a beloved student mentor throughout her career.
According to reports, she got her bachelor’s degree in Music Education. She furthered are academic endeavors bagging a Masters Degree at Indiana State University.
She served as the Director of Bands at Bloomington High School North for almost four decades. She retired in 2019.
Janis Stockhouse being a woman of leadership had previously been the Director at North Vermillion’s Jr-Sr high school Band and Choral for 4 years.
Reports have it that Janis Stockhouse has been given numerous awards, to name a few; Outstanding Music Educator (IMER Awards) and Educator of the Year (Bloomington Art Council Awards).
Other friends, admirers, and lovers of Janis have taken to social media to pay tribute to the passing legend
Benjamin Handel wrote:
Our community just lost an absolute icon and the sweetest gem of a person. Janis Stockhouse built a world class music program at her school, Bloomington High School North. A giant in the field of music education, she was looking to make a difference, from sweeping rocks off the practice field, teaching about the greats, explaining musicality, or just dealing with a moody percussion director.
I will miss my friend.
Here is an article from 2019 about the end of her career, although she ended up teaching again a few years later.
Ilana Stonebraker a neighbor of Jenis has this to say;
My neighbor and Director of Bands for the Bloomington North for over 30 years Janis M Stockhouse passed away the day before Christmas Eve. I always loved hearing various practices filtering down the street. One time I looked over she was hard core just blowing a shofar. Janis opened her home to my family when they were visiting last March when they came to take care of me. She also took care of Minerva cat several times. We had the chance to see her direct the Bloomington Jazz Orchestra this summer which was a real treat. She had a big tomato crop and always dropped them off with us. A real shock for all of us on the block.
