The earthly life of Janice “Jan” Arlene Sonderby began on April 29th, 1945, in Hartley, Iowa. Her eternal life began on July 25, 2025, when her Heavenly Father called her home to Heaven.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM Thursday, July 31st at Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Francis, Minnesota. A visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will be in Pleasant View Cemetery in Hartley, Iowa at 11:00 AM Saturday, August 2, 2025.
Jan was born to Maurice and Clara (Brandt) Paulson. She was baptized as God’s precious child in 1945 and confirmed in 1959, both at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Hartley, Iowa. Jan remained faithful to her Lord and Savior until He called her home.
Jan attended a country school until 6th grade when the country schools closed. She then attended the Hartley schools and graduated from Hartley High School in 1964. After graduation, she worked at several newspaper offices in northwest Iowa and at a nursing home in Primghar, Iowa. After being advised to move to a drier, warmer, climate, she moved to Prescott Valley, AZ, where she lived for 47 years. It was where she met George Sonderby, the love of her life. They married in 1985 and spent 25 happy years together until George passed away in 2010. Jan relocated to Minnesota in 2022, to be closer to her family. Life was getting to be more of a struggle, but Jan maintained her friendly, outgoing personality and smile. She continued to share the love of her Savior; what He had done for her and how great His love is. She made many new friends while she lived at Cedar Creek Senior Living. Jan loved being outside and enjoyed the birds and garden.
Jan was preceded in death by her husband, George, her parents, brother Gary, grandparents, and many friends and relatives.
Left to cherish her memory are her sister Carolyn, niece Kathy (Todd) Johnson, nephew Mike (Ann Marie) Hemphill, great nephews Wyatt (Hanna) Johnson, Ben Johnson, Lane Johnson, Luke (Noelle) Hemphill, Reece (Lyndee) Hemphill, Sophia Hemphill (Dylan Johnson), great-great nephews Theodore and Tucker Johnson, and great-great niece soon to be born Hemphill-Johnson, and other relatives and friends.
Thank you to the caregivers at Cedar Creek Senior Living for the loving care they gave Jan, and to the “adopted grandchildren”; Jan had a special place in her heart for you.
Thank you also to St. Croix Hospice for their care and support to Jan and her family.
We will miss you Jan, but we know that you are enjoying the blessings of being with Jesus and the glories of Heaven. We look forward to the day we will be reunited with you in Heaven.
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