University of North Carolina, Wilmington issued the following announcement on July 21.
With sadness, UNCW shares that Janice Specter Kingoff ’77, recipient of the 1996 Distinguished Alumna Award, passed away on July 20, 2021.
Kingoff, who graduated from UNCW with a degree in business, was part owner of Kingoff’s Jewelers and had been involved in the family business for 63 years. She also was active in the community and was an enthusiastic supporter of UNCW.
She was president and a long-serving member of the Friends of UNCW and the first president of the UNCW Museum of World Cultures, as well a member of the UNCW Foundation Board of Directors. She also served as president of the Community Concert Board, Wilmington Hadassah and the Sisterhood of B’Nai Israel Synagogue, and as chair of the Women’s United Jewish Appeal and vice president of the League of Women Voters. Additionally, she volunteered her time with New Hanover County Public Schools reading programs, the Brownies and Girl Scouts and the Good Shepherd Center.
Kingoff also enjoyed taking courses through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
“Janice loved a full dinner table during the holidays, UNCW basketball games, having family and friends visit at her Wrightsville Beach home and sharing her ‘prized’ roses with friends and strangers,” her obituary reads. She also cheered on former Head Basketball Coach Kevin Keatts before games during his tenure at UNCW.
A graveside funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. July 23 at B’nai Israel Cemetery, 307 N 18th Street, Wilmington NC. Donations in her memory may be made to the Janice Kingoff Jewish Education Fund at B’Nai Israel Synagogue, 2601 Chestnut St., Wilmington, NC 28405; or to Friends of UNCW, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403.
Original source can be found here.
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