JANET D. SHERER

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MANSON - Janet D. Sherer, 57, of Manson, died Sunday, December 6, 2009, peacefully at home after a 13-month battle with ovarian cancer.

A celebration of life service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, December 12, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Manson. Reverend Michael A. Last, bishop of the Western Iowa Synod-ELCA, will officiate. Visitation will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday at St. Paul Lutheran. Larson-Weishaar Funeral Home, Manson, is in charge of arrangements.

Surviving is her husband, Stephen of Manson, IA; her son, Joshua of Minneapolis, MN; her daughters Katharine of Des Moines and Meghan of Minneapolis; her father Guy W. Denney of Longview, TX; her sister Kathryn Cherry (Michael Cherry) of Marshall, TX; her brother John Denney of Austin, TX; and numerous cousins, nephews, and nieces. She was preceded in death by her mother, Peg Denney.

Jan was born June 3, 1952 in Herington, KS. She spent her early childhood growing up on her grandparents' Kansas farm, and then attended junior high and high school in Irving, TX. She graduated from Irving High School in 1970. Jan attended college at Texas Lutheran College, where she met her husband, Steve. Jan and Steve were united in marriage on June 28, 1975 in Omaha, NE. Together they lived in Dubuque, IA, while Steve completed his seminary training. They then moved to Scobey, MT where Joshua was born. They next moved to Townsend, MT where they had Katharine. One year later, they moved again, this time to Capron, IL where Meghan was born. While living in Capron, Jan was highly involved in her children's school and extra-curricular activities, was active in the church, and worked as a paraeducator in the Walworth, WI school district. In 1994, the family moved to Hettinger, ND, where Jan worked as a paraeducator at Hettinger Public School and a librarian at the Adams County Library. In 2001, Jan and Steve moved to Cokato, MN for a two and a half year period where Jan again worked in the school. Jan and Steve moved to Manson in 2004. Jan worked at Manson Northwest Webster High School in the library and media center until her cancer diagnosis in November 2008. After completing a round of chemotherapy, Jan returned to work in the fall of 2009 as a paraeducator in the first grade classroom of the elementary school.

Jan was a voracious reader, an active gardener, and an awesome mom. Though generally a private person, she was always willing to help those who needed an attentive listener. She was a woman of strong faith and character. She was a tirelessly devoted mother and wife, and lover of rescued animals. As a friend once said of her, "The garden of your smile comes again. And makes us to believe that in your heart no winter comes, and spring will not depart."