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Jan Rutledge

RUTLEDGE, SCHATZ, ULRICK, NEWELL, PARSONS, BLACKLEDGE

Posted By: Sarah Fletcher (email)
Date: 10/12/2021 at 10:09:38

Jan Rutledge, 71, of Iowa City, passed away at her home on October 6, 2021.

In lieu of a service her family encourages those who knew her to share a memory or photo of Jan at www.lensingfuneral.com. Upon Jan’s request, memorial donations may be made in her memory to Iowa Legal Aid Foundation, 1111 9th Street, Suite 230, Des Moines, Iowa, 50314 (www.iowalegalaidfoundation.org/ways-to-give/)

Janice Emma Rutledge was born on September 16, 1950 in Clinton, Iowa, to Margaret Schatz and Talmage Rutledge. Jan and her sister grew up in DeWitt, Iowa where she was raised by her mother and grandparents. She graduated from Jefferson High School in Cedar Rapids and went on to pursue a degree in education from Concordia University Chicago. While working as an English teacher at Linn-Mar High School she made many lifelong friends and positively impacted the lives of all of her students. Jan decided to go to law school graduating from The University of Iowa with her J.D. in 1982. She married David Ulrick on July 24, 1982 in Iowa City at the Danforth Chapel. The couple settled in Iowa City and enjoyed 39 adventurous and memorable years together. Through their marriage, Jan gained three stepchildren that she loved as her own.

To understand Jan’s lasting legacy, her fellow colleague and Iowa Legal Aid’s Executive Director Nick Smithberg writes:
Jan was instrumental in establishing Iowa Legal Aid’s housing advocacy, litigating federal court cases, and continuing to serve as an expert in this area throughout her tenure. Organizationally, Jan played a central role in creating our unified intake system, which has enabled us to serve thousands of clients more efficiently over the last fifteen years. This innovation, cutting edge at its inception, has been lauded by Legal Services and others in the legal aid community and has now been adopted in varying forms by many other programs across the country. Jan never hesitated to remind us, a full and fair education is perhaps the most potent tool there is for breaking the chains of generational poverty. Anyone who can remember her recount her successful battle to roll back denial of public education for nonpayment of school fees, and the story of the principal physically blocking the schoolhouse door to low-income primary school children, will hopefully be reminded of her zeal and use it to carry the battle forward into the future. In more recent years, after her “retirement” in 2018, Jan continued to give her time, energy, and passion to the work of Iowa Legal Aid.

Jan enjoyed gardening, cooking, traveling, reading and truly lived to learn. She experienced many different parts of the world throughout her life, with both her husband and close friends. Living a natural, healthy life was important to her and she enjoyed sharing her knowledge of holistic living. Jan had a deep love for her rescued pets and considered them family. Jan was involved in local politics as a lifelong democrat. She had a genuine love to help others and was happiest when doing so. Her memory will continue to live on in those she leaves behind.

She is survived by her mother Margaret Newell of Iowa City, IA; her husband David Ulrick of Iowa City, IA; her sister Arna (Tom) Rutledge of Cedar Rapids, IA; her children; Kristine (Dan) Parsons of Ames, IA, Kelly (Scott) Blackledge of Park Rapids, MN, and Michael Ulrick of Ft. Collins, CO; three grandchildren Christopher Parsons, Sarah Parsons and DJ (Dottie) Parsons; two great-grandchildren Lettie and Paisley; two step brothers Blaine and Mark Newell, and many extended family members and friends.

She was preceded in death by her father and stepfather as well as her treasured dog, Skipper.

Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
 

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