Janice Hansen

Janice A. Hansen, 77, of Salem passed away on Sunday, October 13, 2019 at Good Samaritan Home in Howard. A memorial service will be held on Friday, October 25 at 10:30 am at Unite Church in Salem. Family will be present to greet one hour prior.

Janice was born on December 22, 1941 to John A. and Blanche (Karlson) Lauck. She grew up north of Salem and graduated from Salem High School. She married Richard A. Hansen on April 27, 1962. After marrying Dick they moved to the Humboldt area. In 1971, they moved back to the Hansen family farm north of Salem where she lived until moving into the Howard nursing home in May of 2016. After Dick passed away in 1998, Jan along with her two sons, Rick and Rob, ran the family farm.

Jan worked as a waitress and cook for many years at several restaurants including Ruth’s, Dakota House and Café 81. She was an excellent cook and baker and was known for her apple pie and chocolate chip cookies. She also worked for Salem Data as a bookkeeper until her retirement.

Dancing was always a love of Jan’s. She would go with other ladies from Salem to Madison on Friday or Saturday nights. This is where she met her special friend, Al Niessan. Al and Jan were together until his death in 2017.

Jan is survived by her two sons, Rick (Gina) and Rob (Mary) of Salem; four grandchildren Zach (Shanna) of Mitchell, Brittany of Mitchell, Cody of Sioux Falls and Danielle of Salem; three great-grandchildren, Savannah, Taylor and Cullen all of Mitchell; sister, Jean (Orville) Triebwasser of Florida; and several other relatives.

Jan was preceded in death by her parents, John A. and Blanche, her husband, Richard, special friend, Al, her in-laws, Pete and Viola Hansen and her brother- and sister-in-law, Knowles and Pat Hansen.