Jeanette (Verhoef) Jansen, 74, of Pella and formerly of Sully, died Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020, at Hospice of Pella Comfort House after a courageous four-week battle with COVID-19 and the effects of COVID. Funeral services were held Monday, Dec. 14, at 10:30 a.m. at Calvary Christian Reformed Church in Pella. Memorial contributions are preferred for the video ministry at Calvary Christian Reformed Church.
Jeanette Verhoef was born in Baambrugge, The Netherlands, on Sept. 1, 1946, a Sunday, at 6 a.m. at home. She was the third child born to Willem “William” and Neeltje Johanna “Nelly” (Griffioen) Verhoef and was named after her maternal grandmother. She was baptized at 7 p.m. that day at the evening church service.
The family also lived in the Noord Oost Polder, in The Netherlands, which her father helped reclaim from the sea in hopes of getting land to farm. When that did not happen, her family decided to immigrate to the United States. In September 1949 when Jeanette was three years old, the family came to the United States on the “Aquatania,” an English ship. They landed in Canada and traveled to Tracy, Iowa, by train; where they were greeted by their sponsor, Eldert Groenendyk. In 1955, when Jeanette was nine, the family became naturalized citizens of the United States. William, or “Bill” as her dad was now known, rented farms in the Brooklyn, Tracy, Bussey, and Leighton areas. The family had moved 10 times in 10 years when in 1960, Bill and Nelly bought their farm south of Pella. Jeanette graduated from Pella Christian Grade School in 1960 and from Pella Christian High School in 1964.
Jeanette married Roger Laverne Jansen on June 17, 1964, at the First Christian Reformed Church in Pella. They made their home in Sully. Sept. 21, 1965, their first son Russell Lee was born. Feb. 23, 1969, their second son Michael Dean was born. Jeanette worked for 27 years at Skiff Medical Center in Newton as an administrative secretary for the Director of Nursing. Part of her duties was to schedule the nursing staff, a very daunting task. Jeanette was very good at it. A nurse was heard to say, “No one could say ‘No’ to Jeanette when she called to ask you to work extra.” When Jeanette and Roger moved to Pella in 2003, Jeanette worked at Grinnell Mutual in Grinnell and as a receptionist at the Pella Chronicle.
After Roger had a heart attack in 1974 at the age of 34 years, Jeanette spent many hours in hospitals in Iowa City and in Des Moines. She was a major advocate for him. Jeanette liked to read, and she loved watching her Iowa Hawkeyes play. She also loved music and spent many hours listening to “The Sounds of Praise” quartet, in which Roger sang baritone for 30 years, and attending their practices and concerts. Jeanette and Roger were members of Sully Christian Reformed Church and after they moved to Pella, Calvary Christian Reformed Church. Roger and Jeanette also loved to travel. They traveled to The Netherlands with their boys and Jeanette’s parents, meeting many relatives. They also traveled to Australia. They enjoyed vacations in Florida, some with the extended Jansen family and some with just the two of them. Jeanette also enjoyed her monthly “Sister’s Lunch” with her sisters and sisters-in-law.
Surviving Jeanette are her husband Roger, son Russell and grandson Josh Jansen of Norwalk, son Michael and daughter-in-law Leasa (Van Wyk), granddaughters Alyssa and Bill Nolte of Cedar Falls, and their two children, Liam and Charlotte (great-grandchildren), and Danielle Jansen and grandson Zach Jansen and Malia, all of Pella.
Also surviving are her sisters: Joan Vande Krol-Zylstra and Claude Zylstra, Marjorie and Mark Van Haaften; brother Harry Verhoef and Linda; and sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law: Shirley (William) Verhoef, Joyce (Jansen-Kooistra) and Bruce Nikkel, Carol (Ed) Jansen, Bev (Jansen) and Jim Tierney, Bryce and Chris Jansen, and Duane and Linda Jansen; and many nieces and nephews.
Preceding her in death were her parents; brothers: William, Gary Marion, and Theodore Peter Verhoef; parents-in-law Jake and Adriana (Vos) Jansen and Esther (Van Waardhuizen) Jansen; brothers-in-law: Keith Vande Krol, Ed Jansen, and Larry Kooistra; and sister-in-law Karen Jansen.
