REEVER, Jan Dolly HEDGES 1943 - 2025

REEVER, HEDGES, OLSON, DURHAM, CARNES, LETZE

Posted By: Joey Stark
Date: 3/23/2025 at 13:40:11

"Southeast Iowa Union / Fairfield Ledger"
Tuesday, March 4, 2025
Page 5, Column 1

JAN DOLLY REEVER (HEDGES)
Fairfield

Jan Dolly REEVER (HEDGES) passed away February 24, 2025 at her home with her family with her. She was born June 7, 1943 to Wayne and Jean HEDGES in Jefferson, Iowa at the Greene County Hospital. She grew up on a farm north of Bayard, Iowa. Some of her favorite childhood memories were squishing chicken poop between her toes and riding her bicycle as fast as she could on the gravel road with no hands.

Growing up in rural Iowa, Jan enjoyed 4H, band, a number of group (class) activities, and basketball. When she graduated Bayard High School in 1961, she held the basketball scoring record for many years-and with her competitive nature loved nothing more than beating her children in numerous games of pig and horse at the family's home basketball hoop. Admittedly, she sometimes let us win!

Following high school, she attended Morningside College obtaining a BA in physical education. During her college years, she met Richard REEVER (her husband of 57 years prior to his passing in 2021). After their marriage in 1964, they moved to Bloomfield, Iowa where she began her career as a bank teller. When they moved to Fairfield in 1967, she started to follow her passion-elementary physical education. Initially, she was a substitute teacher, but soon became the elementary PE teacher at Libertyville, Lincoln, Lockridge, Pleasant Plain and would eventually include Washington in the schools she served. Many of her former students remember dodgeball, kickball, scooters, the parachute and a myriad of other fondly or not-so-fondly remembered activities. Some were recently giving her a hard time for still getting them to work out, even after retirement!

Jan, along with her husband, Richard raised two children. Between going to little league, major league, babe ruth and high school baseball, softball, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, track and football games, she did find time to play cards. Her favorites were bridge, 4-point Pitch and cribbage. She never took a prisoner playing cards. In fact, one long winter day she may have won more than 25 cribbage games in a row against Rich which resulted in the deck of cards thrown outside in a snowbank and an avid vow to never play her in cribbage again!

Upon retiring, she continued her love of cards, reading books, putting puzzles together, and she handed her needlepoint in for quilt making. She had many road trips with friends and family finding the perfect fabric and may have singlehandedly kept several quilt shops in business! Her love of quilting will continue with the many quilts to be made from her dragon hoard of fabric!

Jan possessed a wicked sense of humor gleefully utilizing "slightly" questionable and inappropriate word choices-much to the delight of those who knew her. Her greatest achievement is her love of family and friends, seeing her kids, grandkids and great-grandkids grow and achieve their dreams and goals. She wasn't only a daughter, sister, wife and mother but friend, student, athlete, teacher, mentor and card shark, as well. She is survived by her children, Jason REEVER and Renee (Mark) OLSON, grandchildren; Kuria (Jacob) CARNES and Lore OLSON; great-grandchildren; Oria CARNES, Lilliana DURHAM and Easton REEVER and a niece, Julie LETZE, as well as many cousins.

The family would like to thank the Van Buren County Hospital for their care of her-the kindness, the diligence, the compassion, the communication, the humor and the facilitation of her return to her home, per her wishes.

A celebration of her life will be held March 15, 2025 from 11:00 am - 2:00 pm at the Fairfield Elks Lodge 1192. A private inurnment will be held at a later date at Merle Hay Cemetery in Glidden, Iowa (note: in Carroll Co., IA). Memorials may be made to the Fairfield Elks Lodge 1192 for Jan and Richard Reever Scholarship fund. In addition, mom loved flowers and plants, and they would be a very thoughtful memorial. If you have a charity of your choice you would prefer to support, please donate to them directly.

Behner Funeral Home in Fairfield is assisting the family. Online condolences may be made at www.behnerfh.com.

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*Transcribed for genealogy purposes; I have no relation to the person(s) mentioned.

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