Joan "Peggy" Janssen

Joan (Peggy) L. Janssen

Oregon----Joan (Peggy) Janssen passed away September 15th 2023 at Meadows of Franklin Grove nursing home.  She was born May 15th, 1932 to parents Erma and Charles Wagner in Byron, IL.  She graduated from high school in 1951 and married the love of her life Alan Janssen on June 10th, 1951.  She grew to totally love children and raised two of her own, Brenda and Steve.  She later became a devoted babysitter to many, many extended family members. 

She loved to sew, making many beautiful little dresses for her daughter all the way up through her high school age.  She was a creative person, reading children’s books to children while babysitting, was wonderful at crafts, artwork, etc., etc. 

Joan worked at the Mt. Morris Theater, Kable Printing, Oregon Bakery,  Kysor of Byron and Atwood Industries. 

The family loved travel, taking many exciting road trips all over the U.S and Canada.  She went to Hawaii 11 times, attending Luaus, staying in beautiful hotels and of course shopping.  She loved shopping with her daughter and her sisters, who could out walk and out shop most anybody, going to shopping malls all over Illinois and Wisconsin and even Florida and Hawaii. They would wear the same outfits and model them to church and family reunions. 

She was a fantastic cook, knowing how to make a good home, cooking meals for a king with deserts like Peach pie with ice cream and zucchini bread and cake that was blue ribbon quality.  She made plenty of chocolate chip oatmeal yummies and cowboy cookies for “her children” that she babysat that were absolutely delicious!

She was very down to earth, honest and trustworthy.  She was so cute and precious.  Her soul was good and she was strong willed.  If you ever needed someone to stick up for you, she was right in there fighting.  She later became a gentle, loving and kind lady, always there for you when you needed her.  She mellowed with age but kept her beauty in more ways than one. 

Joan is survived by her two sisters, Shirley (Palmer) and Beverly Snyder, her son and daughter Steve and Brenda, Oregon, IL, her grandchildren Stacy (Barber), Tracy Janssen, Chelsy (Jones), and Kelsy Janssen, and great grandchildren Kasmyn Barber, Zadie Barber, and Zoey Barber, Ella Jones and Nora Jones.  

She is preceded in death by her husband, Alan Janssen, her parents, Erma and Charles Wagner, her brothers Charles Jr, Richard, Bill, and Jerry Wagner; her sisters Patricia Carpenter, Dorothy Capes.

Funeral service and visitation will be held on Wednesday, September 20th at Finch Funeral Home in Mt. Morris, IL, 405 E Hitt St., Rev. Michael Hoffman officiating.  Visitation 10:00 AM, service 11:00 AM.  Burial will be at Oakwood Cemetery in Mt. Morris, IL., 1/4 mile west of Mt. Morris on Highway No. 64.  Lunch at Church of God, 860 W Oregon Trail Rd., Oregon.

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