Pike Township Family Stories
AL AND MARIE JANSEN
Nichols, Iowa Centennial Book 1884-1984, page 336Alphonse William Jansen and Marie Bernice Neff were married in April 1942. Fate seemed to step in, because in May 1941, Marie was called home from Florida to help care for her father who had sustained a fractured hip. Al was living back home with his mother at the time, having just lost his father in January 1941; previously he had been employed in Rock Island, Illinois. Al and Marie met at St. Mary’s church in Nichols that May.
After their marriage, they moved to a farm in the Nichols area. The past thirty years they have lived in Pike township. Al was engaged in farming most of his life and was employed at HON Industries in Muscatine for twenty years.
Marie is a registered nurse, having graduated from Mercy hospital School of Nursing in Iowa City. After leaving Iowa City, she worked in Chicago, West Palm Beach, Florida and Washington, D.C. before returning to Iowa. Marie did private and general duty nursing at both Mercy and University hospitals intermittently over the years. She was also an industrial nurse at Louis Rich in West Liberty for three years and did staff nursing at the Lone Tree Health Care center before retiring.
Al and Marie Jansen are the parents of three children: Diane Marie Jansen, Carol Anne Jansen and David William Jansen.
Diane Jansen married Kenneth Barkhurst.. They are the parents of four children: Angela Marie Barkhurst, Cristine Renee Barkhurst, Shawn Michael Barkhurst and Timothy John Barkhurst. Diane, Kenny and family live in Lake Zurich, Illinois. However, after their marriage and until three years ago, they lived in the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area. Kenny is a Certified Public Accountant. He graduated from The University of Iowa. Diane is a registered nurse, graduating from Mercy hospital School of Nursing in Iowa City.
Carol Jansen married Gary Blackman. Their first son, Eric Clinton Blackman, was born in 1970 and died in 1972. They have two other children: Graham Ross Blackman and Emily Suzanne Blackman. They live in Petaluma, California. Gary graduated from Central college in Pella, Iowa. After teaching in high school in Ottumwa, Iowa, he received his M. A. degree from The University of Iowa and is self employed as a rehabilitation counselor. Carol received her B. A. degree from The University of Iowa.
David Jansen married Laurie Voss. Their two daughters are Carrie Marie Jansen and Stephanie April Jansen. David was in the U. S. Air Force for six years. At present he is employed by the John Deere DeVries Equipment company of West Liberty. They reside north of West Liberty.
Al’s parents, John Jansen and Marie Wissink Jansen, four half-sisters, one half-brother and three brothers came to the United States from Gaaderen, Holland, in April 1911. They settled in Nichols that year. Three half-sisters have died. One half-sister, Mary Van Aken Kaalberg, lives near Iowa City. His half-brother, Leo Van Aken, died in December 1983. His brother, John Jansen, lives in Eldridge, Iowa. His brother, Henry Jansen (deceased), lived at Lone Tree. His brother, Theodore Jansen, lives in Muscatine. Al also had three sisters: Agnes Jansen Schrader (deceased); Josephine Jansen Pohlmann and Cecelia Jansen Backus Simon, both from Davenport, Iowa.
Marie’s parents, John Theodore Neff , son of Frank X. Neff and Josephine Fyant Neff, and Grace Green, daughter of Hiram Green and Nora Reed Green, were married in 1911 in Muscatine. They lived in Pike townshi0p, south of Nichols their entire married life. Marie has three sisters and two brothers; one other brother, Merton Victor Neff, died in infancy. Her brother, Duane Neff, and her sister, Ortha Neff, live on a farm south of Nichols. Her brother, Ralph Neff, lives near Muscatine. Her sister, Theodora Neff Harder, lives in West Liberty. Her sister, Marcella Neff Barnhart, lives in Nichols.
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Page created December 31, 2010 by Lynn McCleary