Janice Eldredge Day; Co-Founder of Jafra Cosmetics

Janice Eldredge Day, 77, co-founder of California-based Jafra Cosmetics. Day and her late husband, Frank, created the company 41 years ago in their Malibu home. They coined the company name by linking parts of their first names. Born in New Bedford, Mass., Day attended Middlebury College in Vermont and as an alumna became a major donor. The school has named its student center in the Days’ honor. Day worked in publicity, advertising and teaching. After their marriage in 1949, the Days observed the success of direct sales through home “parties” when Jan Day represented Stanley Home Products. With their own company, they set out to offer women the opportunity for personal, professional and economic growth in the comfortable environment of people’s homes. The Days expanded the company to 30 states and remained active even after selling it to the Gillette Co. in 1973. Jan Day was chairman of the board, and only semiretired in 1984. As a philanthropist, she founded the Jafra Educational Development Grant Endowment for scholarships and made donations not only to Middlebury but also to Santa Barbara City College and Pepperdine University. On July 4 in Santa Monica of lung cancer.