Jan Wynn McMillan, known to many as Jan Lynn Hanson, passed away with family surrounding on March 12, 2026, at her beloved home on The Farm in Southside, Alabama, after a courageous battle with metastatic acral lentiginous melanoma cancer. She was 67 years old.

Born on October 14, 1958, in Escondido, California, Jan was the youngest daughter of the late Robert and Betty Hanson. Jan was the first in her family to go to college, and she never looked back. She earned her LPN, then went on to become a registered nurse, launching a career that would touch, and quite literally save, more lives than anyone could count.

Jan's calling led her to the front lines of emergency medicine. She served as Charge Nurse of a Level 1 Trauma Center in Birmingham, Alabama, where she thrived in the fast-paced, high-stakes environment that would have overwhelmed most people. Jan contracted with AirMed as a Flight RN, performing emergency rescues both domestically and internationally.

Perhaps her most profound legacy lies in her tireless advocacy for sexual assault survivors. Jan became a state trainer of SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) nurses, teaching hundreds of nurses throughout the Southeast. Her meticulous work with Rape Response and through her training programs contributed to the successful prosecution of literally thousands of offenders. She gave survivors a voice and made sure that voice was heard in courtrooms across the region.

But anyone who knew Jan knew she was so much more than her impressive resume. She was witty, silly, and always the first one to suggest a game night. She was the kind of person who could meet someone for the first time and walk away with a new best friend. She loved her grandchildren and was never happier than with her grandkids were climbing all over their “Yappy.” She loved fishing, pool volleyball, dancing, karaoke, crafts, and a good cruise where she could lay out in the sun. She had a well-known fondness for gambling, and was good at it. She shared an obsession with true crime that her family lovingly teased her about; there wasn’t a Dateline she hadn’t seen or a Forensic File she wouldn’t watch. Above all, she was selfless, always putting everyone else's needs before her own.

Jan is survived by her husband, Michael McMillan; her three daughters, Sara Wynn (Christopher Radford), Rachel Franzen (Joshua), and Andrea McMillan (Owen); her life-long best friend Cathy Stockes, who was close as family; her nephews Tim Medders (Malinda) and Shane Hanson; and her niece Brandy Clemmons (Corey), along with grandchildren Logan, Rory, Lynley, and Huey who were the light of her life and loved her fiercely. She was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Betty Hanson, and her sisters Debra Medders and Robby Mitchell. In her final days, she had visits and calls from hundreds of people whose lives she touched.

Jan’s spiritual beliefs were important, and she was a woman of prayer. Her faith carried her through the hardest days and gave her a peace that radiated to everyone around her. Those who loved her find comfort in knowing she is resting in that peace now. She was the glue of the family and her absence will be a heavy weight felt by all that knew her.

A Celebration of Life will be forthcoming. Details will be shared with family and friends as plans are finalized. In the meantime, do something Jan would do: play a game with someone you love, dance like nobody is watching, and look out for the person next to you. That is how she lived, and that is how she would want to be remembered.

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