| Janet
“Jan” Ann Panger, 82, passed away on July 31st, 2024, at Good
Shepherd Lutheran Home, Sauk Rapids. A private Celebration of Life will be held
at a later date.
A lifelong
resident of Minnesota, Janet was born March 27, 1942, in Aitkin to Robert and
Ann (Gray) Schultz. When she was very young her family moved from Aikin to
Worthington, and then to Rochester, where she graduated from John Marshall High
School and Rochester Junior College. She received her BA degree from St. Olaf
College and MSW from the University of Minnesota. June 18, 1979, she married
Kenneth J. Panger and became stepmother to his three teenagers, Christel, Gene,
and Erick. Janet was employed as a school social worker for many years in St.
Cloud Public and Parochial Schools. She will be remembered as a compassionate
listener, faithful friend, loving wife, and one who always worked to bring
people together. She especially delighted in being a grandmother to her
step-grandchildren.
From
childhood on, Janet loved writing. She not only researched and produced twelve
family history books for her own family and libraries; she also edited and
published the memoirs of her great aunt, Nora Frye and her mother’s poetry book
“Message in a Bottle”. With her husband Ken,
she invested in the construction of clean water systems in developing countries
and provided equipment for medical teams serving people living in poverty in
Guatemala and Africa. Janet loved hosting Bible studies in her home and
spending time with family and friends at the cabin on Agate Lake. Together she and
Ken delighted in learning, travel, family history, classical music, restoring
family antiques, and spending time with their three beautiful golden
retrievers.
Janet is
survived by her husband Kenneth; sister, Marilyn (Bruce) Thompson;
stepchildren, Christel Danna (Dr. Timothy Smith), Gene (Anne Fresilli-Panger),
Erick; daughter-in-law Bobbie Panger; step-grandchildren, Aaron (Manila), Samantha Panger (Destin Douglas), and Maija (Michael) Laris; and 7 step-great grandchildren.
She was preceded
in death by her parents, Robert and Ann Schultz and her sister, Roberta (Andrew
C.) Shorter.
Memorials
are preferred to be sent to Outreach Africa Inc; Tri-County Humane Society; or
the donor’s choice of a charitable organization. |
