Mary Jane "Janie" Jobes

Sibley, IA 

     Mary Jane (Janie) Jobes, age 87, of Sibley, Iowa, passed away with peace and grace on October 10, 2018, at Country View Manor, Sibley, Iowa.

     Her Celebration of Life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 13, 2018, at the First Presbyterian Church, in Sibley, with Pastor Maggie Gisch, officiating.

     Burial will be in the Baker Township Cemetery of rural Melvin, Iowa.

     Visitation will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. with the family present from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Friday, at the Jurrens Funeral Home of Sibley.

     Janie was born on September 5, 1931, in Stockport, Iowa, the daughter of Fletcher C. and Margaret E. (Stonebraker) Bell. She grew up in rural southeast Iowa, graduating from Fairfield High School and Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa, earning a teaching certificate. In the summer of 1951, Janie was part of a vocal trio, the “Harmonettes”, who traveled throughout the Dakotas, Wyoming, and Minnesota, performing at county fairs. That fall, she moved to Melvin, Iowa, where she taught fourth grade for one year. On April 10, 1952, she was united in marriage to Norman L. Jobes at the First Presbyterian Church in Atlantic, Iowa. They made their home in Melvin where they raised their family. In 1978 they moved to Hartley after building their own home and later to a rural acreage. In 2002, Janie and Norman moved to Sibley. In July of 2018, Janie moved from her home to Country View Manor. Janie was active in the church and the communities she lived in. Over the years she worked at Tony and Mary’s, the Double J/Pete’s, Gene’s Foodland Deli, and volunteered as a teacher’s aide for more than ten years at Ben Franklin Elementary School. Janie was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Sibley where she was blessed with a wonderful church family. She enjoyed crocheting/knitting, cross stitching, reading, coloring, bird watching, and camping. She is lovingly remembered for sewing each of her daughters’ wedding dresses. She loved spending time with her family – children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren – and many friends.

     Janie is survived by her children, Cynthia (David) Watson of Duluth, MN, Steven (Laura) Jobes of Stewartville, MN, Angela (Dale) Lewis of Marysville, KS, Rebecca (Armon) Lansing of Villa Rica, GA, Elizabeth (Harold) Dawson of Sibley, IA, Timothy Jobes of Des Moines, IA, Amelia (Edward) McLaughlin of Bellevue, NE, and David (Angell) Jobes of Pleasant Hill, IA; 30 grandchildren and 37 great-grandchildren; and one sister, Ida (William) Seaberg of Evergreen, CO.

     She was preceded in death by her husband of 51 years, an infant son, Jeffrey, her parents, Fletcher and Margaret Bell, and one sister, JoAnn Bolton.