Janis Roberta Pfohl was born on May 2, 1956 in Denver, Colorado to Robert and Nell Trace. She was the third of four siblings – Julie, John, and Joanne Trace. Janis grew up walking to school past the Denver Zoo, and she knew she wanted to work with animals one day. This led her to study Zoology at CSU. She married Bruce Pfohl on August 27, 1983 and had two sons, Dylan and Taylor shortly thereafter. During her life, Janis worked for the Denver Parks Department, the Denver Zoo, and Custom Machining, Inc. While at the Zoo, Janis was a zookeeper for elephants, polar bears, and sea lions. She rode and washed elephants, walked and fed baby polar bears, named a newborn polar bear (Ulaq), and trained sea lions for the daily show. Janis loved outdoor activities, such as water skiing, snow skiing, hiking, snowshoeing, camping, and gardening. She spent the last 4.5 years of her life courageously fighting Multiple Myeloma. Janis passed away on January 3, 2018 in her home in Parker, Colorado. She is survived by her husband, Bruce, sons Dylan and Taylor, as well as siblings, Julie Heidt, John Trace (Traci), and Joanne Spillman, and numerous relatives, nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the World Wildlife Fund, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Department, or the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.   

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