Janice V. Kucera was born to Charles A. and Viola R. Rank on December 15, 1940 on the family farm southeast of Exeter, Nebraska and passed away December 19, 2025 at the Holmes Lake Nursing Facility in Lincoln, Nebraska at the age of 85. She was the eldest of two daughters.
Throughout her life, Janice was passionate about many things including her love of animals, trees, and all things in nature as well as Elvis. It was that love of Elvis that inspired her persuit to perform as The Lady Elvis. As a young girl, she and her sister sang together as a duo "Jan and Fran" and enjoyed entertaining around local communities. When in high school, Janice was encouraged to perform as Elvis in a school production and loved the energy of that performance. It was then that she began her career of entertaining as The Lady Elvis.
Her singing career spanned more than 40 years in which she covered many songs in the likeness of Elvis both locally and in other areas of the country, as well as songs from her own record Janice K and the Phantom Band: Hard Rock in the Heartland. While chasing her dream, it led to her having a variety of careers including a secretary at Exeter Public Schools, waitressing positions, cashier and keno runner in Las Angeles. Her career also included small parts in several movies while living in Los Angeles, appearing in the book "I am Elvis" as well as appearances on the Oprah Winfrey and Joan Rivers shows. In 1999 she was inducted into the Nebraska Music Hall of Fame, an honor for which she was ever grateful. She decided to step away from performing following the loss of her parents and a series of health issues. She credited her love of performing and ability to channel a likeness of Elvis to her interactions with him in both Las Vegas and Memphis as well as the opportunity to attend 39 live performances and the befriending of his Uncle Vester while living in Memphis with her parents.
Janice's other love was wildlife and nature. She was a fierce proponent of conservation and chose to support and donate to organizations like Defenders of Wildlife and Saving the Redwoods. She spent many hours out on the family farm enjoying the peace and quiet as well as local sites where she would take a thermos of coffee and sit quietly waiting for a deer, a raccoon, or a bobcat to walk by. Many of those trips involved her daddie Charlie and they would sit for hours enjoying the solace.
Janice was preceded in death by her father Charles Kucera, her mother Viola Rank Kucera, and her sister Fran Kucera Hendrych.
She is survived by her niece Wendy Heath and husband Clayton Heath, great niece Charli Heath and great nephews Jami Nguyen and husband Peter Nguyen, as well as many cousins in California.
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