Janice Marie (Von Ahsen) Curl, 15 Mar 1945 - 13 Aug 2021

CURL, VON AHSEN, DURR, BAACK

Posted By: Sarah Witte (email)
Date: 8/26/2021 at 09:48:30

Janice Marie Curl, age 76, passed away on Friday, August 13, 2021 in Des Moines, Iowa of chronic pulmonary issues. Memorial funeral services for Janice (Jan) will be held on Thursday, August 19, 2021 at 11:00 AM with a luncheon immediately after the service at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Carlisle. A visitation will held from 4PM to 8PM on Wednesday, August 18, 2021 also at Holy Cross Lutheran Church. Interment will be held at a later date.

Janice was born on March 15, 1945 at Marengo Hospital in Iowa County, Iowa to Orville H.E. and Mary Elizabeth (Durr) von Ahsen. She graduated from Williamsburg High School in 1963 and attended Concordia Seward University in Seward, NE.

Jan married the love of her life, Roger D. Curl on December 28, 1966. In their early years of marriage, they lived in Cedar Rapids and Jan worked for the University of Iowa Hospitals. Roger and Jan moved from Cedar Rapids to a farmhouse in Lisbon, Iowa where they raised their children, Kevin and KaraJane. Being a mom was what she enjoyed most. Jan would later go to work for Lisbon Schools as a teacher’s aide (so she could be available to her children) where everyone knew Mrs. Curl as their “Recess Teacher”. In 1984, Jan went to work as a Podiatry Assistant, where she worked for 31 years before retiring in 2015. In 1995, the couple moved from Lisbon to Marion, IA where she lived until 2016 when she moved to Des Moines to live her retirement years with her daughter.

Jan was a faithful and devout Christian, known for her love of the color green. If she wasn’t your recess teacher, she was the Green Lady. She loved her Savior, her Church, being a German Lutheran (and all of the humor that goes along with both attributes) children, laughter, telling jokes, playing Bunco, and being with her friends and family. Her faith was important to her and was evident to all whom she met. A highlight of each day was time spent in Devotions, a routine she instilled in her family every morning at the kitchen table and continued even during her final days at the hospital. Jan collected Last Supper items, Noah’s Ark, and Nativities. Her favorite memories were to put up a Nativity she made in ceramics and have a small light in the crèche so that she could sit quietly at night and fall asleep watching the manger.

In 2010, Jan had an emergency tracheotomy that changed her life drastically. Despite having the permanent tracheotomy and living on oxygen during the last years of her life, she still enjoyed being a member of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Carlisle and being one of the Bible Study Ladies. She also enjoyed playing games, green Jell-O, and spoiling her Grand Dogs, Kami and Kip.

Janice is survived by her children, Kevin Curl of Cedar Rapids, IA and KaraJane Curl of Des Moines, IA. She is also survived by a brother, Gordon (Kathleen) von Ahsen of Harlan, IA; a sister Marcia (Jim) Baack of Homestead, IA; a sister–in-law Brenda Lodeane Curl of Douglassville, GA; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Janice was preceded in death by her husband, Roger in 2007; her parents, a brother-in-law, Cordell Curl and niece, Kristen Curl of Georgia.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorials be made in Janice’s behalf to either the Family for a memorial to be determined or to LCMS World Mission in care of Mission Central, 40718 Hwy E 16, Mapleton, IA, 51034.

Published on Peterson Funeral Services website, an abbreviated version published in The Gazette on August 18, 2021.