Jean (Jensen) Sondrol (1932-2019)

SONDROL, JENSEN, SWAN, BRADY, HOWARD, KERN, BROCKMAN

Posted By: Mark Christian
Date: 5/17/2021 at 16:53:13

From Iowa Funeral Planning, Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa.

Jean Sondrol, 86, of Des Moines, passed away on Sunday, June 16, in that city. She was born on Dec. 18, 1932, to Willard and Inez Jensen in Creston, Iowa. The family later moved to Mount Pleasant, Iowa, where she spent her high school years. She was in the Panther band and enjoyed Methodist Youth Fellowship there. After briefly attending nursing school in Burlington, Iowa, she married Robert Lee Swan in Mount Pleasant in 1952. Both worked in the Henry County Courthouse in Mount Pleasant.

Robert was asked to transfer to the Iowa Highway Commission in Ames and Jean became a lightning fast typist, working for Donnelly Marketing in Nevada, among other jobs. Perhaps her most satisfying work, however, was when she joined the office of Knapp-Tedesco Insurance in Ames, where she enjoyed a fine career.

The couple was very involved in their children’s activities, including the PTA (Parent Teacher Association). Most notable were their efforts to save Beardshear Elementary School from closure. Those efforts were unsuccessful, but they led to many friendships. Jean was also an enthusiastic member of the League of Women Voters.

A big part of Jean’s life was the bridge club she belonged to, which led to decades-long friendships. Most recently dubbed ‘The Filthy Five,’ the group visited Jean in Des Moines recently.

Robert died in 1978 and Jean later married Charles Sondrol of Ames. They soon moved to McAllen, Texas, where they enjoyed several residential communities there. In Texas, Jean became a very good golfer and brought home first-place trophies. They later moved to Story City and Ames and were very active in their neighborhoods.

Later in life, Jean had many health challenges but faced them with courage and strength. One of her greatest triumphs was being able to live on her own the last couple years in Vintage Park Cooperative in Beaverdale, Iowa, where she enjoyed all kinds of activities with friends there.

Jean was a positive role model who rooted for others’ success and cared for people. Jean was an active member of the United Methodist and Lutheran churches during her lifetime. She was a great cook and housekeeper when she took on those roles. She was preceded in death by husband Robert and her parents. She is survived by children Michael (Linda) of El Dorado, Kansas and Dana (William) Brady of Des Moines; grandchildren William Swan of Wichita and Katy of Lawrence, Kansas; Alexis (Justin) Howard of Des Moines and Allegra of Ames; two great-grandchildren, Kahlan and Bryn Howard; and her sisters, Ruthann (Dave) Kern of Bloomington, Illinois, and Mary (Craig) Brockman of Plano, Texas.

Kahlan and Bryn referred to their great-grandmother as ‘Great-Jean’, a nickname she adored.

Visitation will begin at 10 a.m., Saturday, June 22, 2019 at Brooks Funeral Care in Clive, Iowa. Her funeral will begin at 11 a.m. Interment will be at 2 p.m. in the Walnut Grove Cemetery in Corning, Iowa.

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