The City of Spartanburg is saddened to announce the death of City Council Member Jan Scalisi. Ms. Scalisi died after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer in August.
Details on services for Ms. Scalisi are not finalized. She was 61.
Mayor Junie White issued the following statement:
“On behalf of her colleagues on City Council and the entire City team, I want to extend our sympathy to Jan Scalisi’s family and friends. And Jan Scalisi certainly had a lot of friends. Jan loved Spartanburg, and she loved serving the people of this community. She was an engaged City Council member, and took her job serving the people of Spartanburg as a member of City Council seriously. She would spend hours pouring over the City budget and carefully studying and considering different policy options. While she had firm convictions, she also had the ability to approach issues with an open mind. She would listen to all viewpoints and believed everyone should have a voice and be heard. We will miss her terribly, but at this time I take comfort in knowing that our community is a better place because of Jan Scalisi.”
Ms. Scalisi was in her second term on City Council after first being elected in 2011 and re-elected in 2015. She was a longtime journalist, communications consultant, and community volunteer in Spartanburg. During her time on City Council, the City moved forward on several efforts that she championed, including the Northside Initiative, an unprecedented citywide parks and recreation capital investment plan, and a wave of streetscaping and other infrastructure investments downtown. Among her many community service and volunteer roles, she had served on the boards of the Spartanburg Convention & Visitors Bureau, Carolina Foothills Artisan Center, New Day Clubhouse, and Handicapped Athletes Learning To Enjoy Riding (HALTER), and was a longtime volunteer for the Miss South Carolina Pageant and the Hub City Bookshop. Ms. Scalisi earned undergraduate degrees from both Converse College and the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point and earned a Master’s degree in Education from Memphis State University.