Janet I. “Jan” Jensen

janet jensen

Janet I. “Jan” Jensen, 88, of Wabash, Indiana, died at 10:01 am, Wednesday, July 12, 2017 at Heritage Pointe in Warren, Indiana. She was born February 2, 1929 in Springfield, Ohio to DeForest W. and Katherine D. (Deitz) Ingerham. She married Robert E. Jensen in Mansfield, Ohio on June 10, 1956; he died August 11, 2014.

Jan was a 1946 graduate of Athens High School in Athens, Ohio, and a Phi Beta Kappa 1950 graduate of Ohio University. She had a graduate assistantship in Psychology. While at Ohio University, Jan was active in campus musicals, her favorite role being Nanette in “No, No, Nanette”. During the years she taught first grade in Mansfield, Ohio, she sang the role of the mother in “Amahl and the Night Visitors”. While living in Richmond, Indiana, she was the soprano soloist in the First Presbyterian Church. After moving to Wabash she taught several years in the Wabash Elementary Schools. Jan loved her family, and family life was of utmost importance to her. She cherished her children, grandchildren, and great grandchild, and the time she could spend with them. She loved all children and will be remembered as the Director of the Presbyterian Nursery School from 1971-1992. She was the co-founder of the Wabash Musicale. Other memberships include the Round Table, Indianapolis Symphony Society, and Chapter BY of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, where she served as president multiple times. Jan had also served on committees of the Indiana State Chapter of the P.E.O., the finance committee, scholarship committee, and the membership committee. She also belonged to the Fort Wayne Alumnae Chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota music honorary, Ohio Alpha Alumnae group of Pi Beta Phi, and the Woman’s Clubhouse Association. She had served on the boards of Community Service and ARC. Jan was an active member of the Wabash Presbyterian Church for many years, where she sang in the choir. In recent years, she attended the Wabash Friends Church.

She is survived by two children, William “Bill” (Jackie) Jensen of Columbus, Indiana, and Karen (Alan) Riggers of Huntington, Indiana; five grandchildren, Nicole (Josh) May of Bowling Green, Kentucky, Zane (Kate) Jensen and Connor Jensen, both of Columbus, Matt Crosley of Norman, Oklahoma, and Jake (Mandy Bode) Crosley of Fort Wayne, Indiana, great-grandson, Thaddeus May of Bowling Green, and her niece, Sally (Tom) Ashley of Sugar Land, Texas. She was also preceded in death by her parents, her brother, Richard Ingerham, and her niece Susan Ashley.

Funeral services will be 2pm Saturday, July 15, 2017 at Grandstaff-Hentgen Funeral Service, 1241 Manchester Avenue, Wabash, with David Phillips officiating. Burial will be in Falls Cemetery, Wabash. Friends may call 4-7 pm Friday, at the funeral home.

Preferred memorial is Animal Shelter of Wabash County.

The memorial guest book for Jan may be signed at www.grandstaff-hentgen.com.

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