Angela Elizabeth Jansen
FORDYCE — Angela Elizabeth Jansen, 90, Fordyce, died May 5, 2022.
Visitation will be held from 5-9 p.m., with a rosary and prayer service at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 12, at St. Boniface Catholic Church, Menominee.
Memorial Mass is 10:30 a.m., May 13, at St. Boniface.
Inurnment will be in St. Boniface Cemetery, Menominee.
Angela was born March 14, 1932, the oldest daughter of Charles and Teresa Salvatori, in Yankton, S.D., and moved with her family to a small farm in Menominee, at the age of 12.
Angela attended St Boniface Catholic School until her eighth grade graduation. She went to work after graduation as a mother’s helper, assisting new moms after childbirth in the Menominee and Fordyce area. She then worked as a candy-striper in Sacred Heart Hospital until taking a full-time nanny position for Dr. John and June McVay in Yankton.
Angela met Clarence Jansen, her husband of 68 years, at a dance in Bow Valley. She and Clarence married shortly after his return from the Army June 23, 1953. After marriage, they settled on a farmstead near Fordyce. She gladly welcomed 11 children into her life. She was known by her children for her strong work ethic, which she imparted to each of them. Angela was a caring and loving mother to her 11 children. She also welcomed each of their spouses, considering them as important as her own children, insisting any family photo included all of them.
In early 1980, Angela joined Clarence as he went through studies to become a Deacon in the Catholic Church. After his ordination, she lovingly served alongside him in many church and teaching activities. She delivered communion to hospital patients in Yankton as her ministry for over 10 years. Angela was also active in the Ladies Guild at St. Boniface, took part in the Christian Mothers Society, and she and Clarence were active members of Cursillo, where they counseled many young Christians to renew their faith in Jesus and the Church.
Angela worked part-time when her youngest went to elementary school, as a cook in the school lunch program in Menominee’s West Catholic Schools. After her youngest child left the nest, she went to work full time at the South Dakota State Hospital, Yankton, as part of the housekeeping staff. After she retired, she started what she called “a housecleaning ministry” for many elderly in the Fordyce and Yankton areas.
After 50 years living on the farmstead, Angela finally got her wish, they moved to a house “in town,” Fordyce, in 2001. She began to do more quilting and played Bridge several times a week with friends well into her upper-80s. Getting together with friends and family to play cards was one of her passions. She was the happiest when one of her 27 grandchildren with spouses and families would stop by to see her and Clarence for a visit. She continued to sew and quilt until December 2021, making baby quilts and lap blankets for the great-grandchildren as they came along, some still tucked away for future babies.
She is survived by her husband, Clarence; and her 11 children and spouses, Sheri (Dennis) Potter, Omaha; Steven (Joan) Jansen, Fordyce; Terry (Pam) Jansen, San Antonio, Texas; Anne (Mike) Rhodes, Omaha; Dale (Wanda) Jansen, Yankton, S.D.; Jean (John) Pinkelman, Fordyce; NE, Joan (Randy) Kurtenbach, Omaha NE, Clair (Shawn) Jansen, Omaha; Sheila (Tim) Steiner, Lake Havasu, Ariz.; Gerard (Tina) Jansen, Omaha; and Karen (John) Powell, Shawnee, Kan.; 27 beloved grandchildren and 39 great-grandchildren; two sisters, Joan (Larry) Eickhoff and Karen (Larry) Becvar; sisters-in-law, Jean (Ray) Salvatori, Clara (Alfred) Rolfes, Lorraine (Leo) Schulte and MaryAnn (George) Jansen and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; sisters, Janice (infant), Geraldine (Becker) and Theresa (Stratman); twin brothers, Raymond and Robert Salvatori; and in-laws, Zavier Becker, Ralph Stratman, Angela and Francis Lease, Alfred Rolfes, Leonard and Mary Jansen, Loretta and Claude Schulte, Rita and Marvin Sudbeck, Martin and Alice Jansen, George Jansen,