Betty E. Jansen

SIOUX CITY | Betty E. Honaker Spencer Jansen, 84, of Sioux City, passed away Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016 at The Heritage of Northern Hills.

Memorial services will be 11:00 a.m. Thursday, Jan 7, 2016 at Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel. Burial will be at a later date at Parkview Cemetery, Hastings, Nebr. Visitation with the family present will be 5-7 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Condolences may be sent online at www.meyerbroschapels.com.

Betty was born March 22, 1931 in Hastings, NE the daughter of Raymond W. and Charlotte J. (Stromer) Kerr. She graduated from Hastings High School in 1948. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Hastings College in 1952 and her Master’s degree from the University of South Dakota in 1982.

Betty’s 40 plus years of teaching included Hastings, Scottsbluff and North Platte, NE. She started with the Sioux City Community School District in 1964 and retired in 1993. Betty continued as a substitute teacher until 2006.

Betty was married to Benjamin S. Honaker in Aug. of 1952. To that marriage two daughters were born, Beth and Becky. She later married Lawrence Spencer. In October of 2004 she married the love of her life, John W. “Jack” Jansen. 

Her professional memberships included the Sioux City Retired Educators, the Iowa State Retired Teachers and the National Education Association. Other memberships Betty was involved in were the Siouxland Center for Active Generations, Fraternal Order of Eagles Auxiliary in South Sioux City, the Sioux City Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and St. Luke’s Auxiliary.  Betty was the founder and a leader of a local 4H Club. She was also a longtime active member of Trinity Lutheran Church.                             

She enjoyed bird watching, monthly bridge games, card parties, dancing at the Senior Center and spending time with family.

Survivors include her husband, Jack Jansen; 2 daughters Beth (Mike) Stumm of Zumbrota, MN and Becky (Terrel) Hobbiebrunken of South Sioux City, NE; 5 grandchildren, Jennifer Stumm and Johnathan Stumm both of Zumbrota, MN, Stephanie VanderBrink of Dallas, TX, James VanderBrink of Omaha, NE and Emily VanderBrink of Lincoln, NE;  step-children, Doug and Emery Jansen of Austin, TX, Kathy and Kevin Zellers of Weber, MN, Terry and Ronald Johnson of Burbank, CA and Leslie Jansen of Sioux City; step-grandchildren, Kristin and Fred Nestler of Bismarck, ND, Kevin Jr. and Erin Zellers of Swanville, MN, Korey and Lindsay Zellers of Moorhead, MN, Alexandra and Sarah Jansen of Austin, TX, Ben and Cathy Johnson of Burbank, CA; step great-grandchildren, Jacob, Jonathan, Isaac and Kaylee Nestler and Kaleb, Ethan and Emma Zellers.                                                                                                                        

She was preceded in death by her parents and her 2 brothers, Marvin and Don Kerr, both of Hastings, NE.  

Memorials may be made in her name to Trinity Lutheran Church or Hospice of Siouxland.