Janice M. Satica passed away July 13, 2025 at the age of 100+.
Born Janice Muriel Huhtala 01-28-1925 to Oscar Thomas Huhtala and Gladys Y (Pinnell) Huhtala in Porterville, CA, she grew-up about 16 miles east in Springville. When she was 1 her family moved to a ranch they bought about 1 mile east of Milford, CA. Within a year her dad died and left her mom to raise her and three siblings on her own. Since her mom didn’t drive (no Drivers License), Janice had to ride her horse to school in Milford. The house was spring fed by one pipe to the kitchen sink. Her mom helped make ends meet by cooking at the Hotel in Amedee across Honey Lake near the base of Skeddadle.
After high school and working at Fruit Growers, she married Albert E. Garate 03-16-45 and on 10-23-48 had a daughter Nancy. Nancy was hit and killed by an auto in front of their house 04-07-55. They adopted a baby boy, Robert E. Garate in 1956 and then another, Randy B. Garate in 1958. The two boys soon joined mom and dad as ranch hands for various relatives, neighbors and friends. The family of four developed a rhythm. Feeding cattle and horses, duck and goose hunting, dragging meadows / fixing fence, camping, fishing, old bottle and arrowhead hunting, riding/doctoring cattle, cutting/splitting wood, shipping cattle, dove and quail hunting…repeat.
Janice could tell you how much a bull weighed, or if a horse was any good or not with just a look, or how cold it was going to get by just glancing at Skeddadle’s color in the evening.
Albert died 11-25-80. A year or two later Janice started a relationship with Domingo Satica and they were married 12-23-91. Janice continued riding, herding/gathering cattle, riding Dom’s ATV up Gold Run with her friend Mary Rey fishing and being a second mom and grandma wheelie to the Satica’s.
Dom passed away 11-07-2001. Janice carried her love and obligation as wife and mother through joy and tragedy without looking left or right. Banged-up from a life on horseback she stopped cowboying in her 70’s but never quit riding until her last breath.
She leaves behind her son’s Bob (Brenda) and Randy (Nancy) Garate, her stepchildren, Bob (Nancy) Satica, Dena (Gary) Eastwood, Linda (Billy) Farris and Shirley (Lenny) Shepherd, as well as many grandchildren and some great-grandchildren.
High up on Skeddadle, you ride to gather strays
on violet rock at daybreak, you ride into the flame
what may have been the ashes getting caught-up in the
breeze is now a raging dust storm, below on Amedee
Ride in peace mom
