Obituary of Jan Striepe
Janice Marie Striepe passed away at her beloved East Lake Okoboji cottage on December 12, 2020. She was born on January 1,1947 in Benson Minnesota to her mother Audrey Almon Ruplinger and her father Robert Leon Ruplinger. Her Mother and Father preceded her in death as well as Jim Ruplinger, her brother. She is survived by James L Striepe her husband of 51 years; her daughter Michelle Striepe and her husband Hamish Patterson of Perth, Australia and granddaughters Grace and Maggie; her son Thomas Striepe and wife Jennifer Striepe of Athens, Georgia and grandson Jude and granddaughter Arly.
Janice grew up on a farm south of Hancock Minnesota and enjoyed the “freedom” of farm life and the school activities found living in a rural area. She fulfilled her dream of becoming a nurse by attending Fairview Hospital Nursing program and graduating in May 1967. Her love of adventure and serving others led to her first nursing experience at the New Guinea Yagum Mission Hospital. What an adventure and culture shock. After traveling in Australia and South East Asia, Jan returned to the US to work at Fairview Hospital where she met her future husband Jim. She was a nurse and Jim worked as an orderly on the same unit. Interesting night shifts. Following their marriage in January 1969, in the middle of a Minnesota snow blizzard, Jan followed her husband’s education journey from University of South Dakota to the University of Iowa where he gained his Hospital Administration degree. Jan worked in the University of Iowa’s first ICU/Kidney Transplant team. From there they moved (1970) to Springfield Missouri for another hospital position. But Jan’s love of nursing led her to obtain her Bachelor of Nursing degree from Drury College. Another hospital position move (1974) to Clinton, Missouri motivated her to achieve her Masters Degree in Education From Central Missouri University. Jan not only completed her nursing degrees but also delivered Michelle in Springfield and TJ in Clinton.
Her love of teaching nursing began in Clinton where she was a nursing clinical instructor for State Fair Community College. This was followed by another hospital move (1980) to Spencer Iowa that led her to become a Clinical Instructor at Iowa Lakes Community College and an adjunct faculty member for the U of I. Her Christian faith and her love of nursing led her to her next challenge of joining with six other nurses in establishing Parish Nurse programs based on Granger Westberg’s writings. Jan wrote a multiyear grant with the Kellogg Foundation which allowed her to establish a network of Parish Nurses in Northwest Iowa. Her grant activities included writing the first Parish Nurse Manual and numerous other articles which led her to presentations in over 50 state and national and international conferences (Spain). I remember having 7500 manuals piled up on my work bench.
Jan’s love of adventure transferred to all the family members with summer USA travel in our “pop-up” camper. European adventures happened and later as our family became an “open nest,” travel to foreign countries restarted with travel to Australia/New Zealand 9 times to see our daughter, Caribbean cruises and finally trips to SE Asia. The family converted her to an Iowa Hawkeye and travel to Iowa City became a tradition. Jan realized another dream in her life with the purchase of the Lake Cottage. Her love of the Lake Cottage as a nest for the family; boating and travel made for an exciting time. Exciting was the word with the arrival of the four grandchildren. Her love for them and playing with them never ended. The professional appointment of our children Michelle to Associate Professor at Edith Cowan University Perth AU and TJ named Director of the University of Georgia Law Library were another treasured moment of her life.
Nana/Grandma will be missed and loved greatly. She lived a wonderful life. Her good health over the past two years began to lessen and she develop heart issues that led to her death.
Due to the unprecedented times, her funeral will be limited to immediate family members. But the live streaming of the service allows the Aussie’s to participate and others. Family and friends can view Jan's service via livestream on Thursday, December 17th at 4:00pm. The link for the livestream is https://www.3cross.org/janice-striepe-funeral-service/
Interment will be held later for the family to organize a family fun lake gathering as Jan wanted. In keeping with her desire to serve others, memorials in lieu of flowers can be made to the First Lutheran Church and will be forwarded to Upper Des Moines Opportunity Inc for their use in aiding the families suffering from COVID.