Janice Loretta (Suyo) Thimsen, 80, died Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020, at HSHS St. Johns Hospital in Springfield.
Funeral services were held Wednesday, Aug. 19, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Mt. Olive with the Rev. James Ritter officiating. Burial was held in Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Mt. Olive. Becker and Son Funeral Home in Mt. Olive assisted the family.
Mrs. Thimsen was born Jan. 13, 1940, in Ferguson, MO, to the late Stephan J. and Opal I. (Best) Suyo. She met Richard Dale Thimsen, and they married after her graduation in 1958. He preceded her in death.
On Jan. 5, 1947, she was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church by Pastor E. Widenhoefer, where she remained a faithful member until her death. She attended Lutheran school as a child and graduated from Mt. Olive High School with the class of 1958.
She worked at Wepco in Mt. Olive and the Weather Proof Company in Litchfield. In 1960, she and her husband started a family and raised seven children. When her children were older, she reentered the work force. She was a cook and later a meal ticket taker for the Mt. Olive School District.
Later, she became the assistant librarian and would eventually become the head librarian at the Mt. Olive Public Library. She did each of her work duties with pride and dedication. One of her greatest tasks was writing and applying for a grant to help build the Mt. Olive Public Library which stands today. She along with others, spent countless hours overseeing the build and eventual move of the former library on Main Street. She was proud of her work at the library and enjoyed greeting patrons every day until her retirement.
She was very active throughout her life, including her children and grandchildren’s activities. She was the best “band mom”, attending many parades, walking alongside the band, and carrying her big yellow band bag, which housed anything and everything a band member might have forgotten. She could also be found cheering on the band from the bleachers at football games and marching band competitions. She was president of the Band Boosters.
A lifetime member of the Heritage Band, formerly the Municipal Band, she was the manager during the Mt. Olive Concert Series. She loved playing her trombone for many years. She also sang in the community choir. She was an active member of the Immanuel Lutheran Church, where she was a Sunday school teacher for 50 years, a Bible school teacher, weekday school teacher, as well as a member of the choir, LWML, Altar Guild, and a volunteer and helper with the yearly Ethnic Festival and Ice Cream Social. An avid Cardinals baseball fan and she loved taking trips to Branson, MO.
She is survived by her children, LeAnn (companion Eric Miller) Hoffstot, Lori (husband Bob) Petroline, Lanette (husband Greg) Thimsen-Troy, Linelle (companion Richard Vieregge) Lyerla, Lorette (husband Ron) Pollard, Luther (Jennifer)Thimsen and Lorna (companion Richard Sanson) Thimsen; grandchildren,Zachary and Zane Hoffstot, Dustin (wife Amber) Petroline, Kevin (fiance Hollie Cassen) Petroline, Brendin (wife Celia) Petroline, Gabrielle (fiance Jacob Petty) Lyerla, Abigail Pollard, Gavin and Grason Thimsen and Alaina Sanson; great-grandchildren MaKenna and Evan Petroline and Alidia and Asher Petty; one sister, Sharilyn (husband John) Hittmeier; one niece, Dawn (husband Dan) McCarthy; one nephew, Eric (wife Patty) Hittmeier; and also great-nieces and great-nephews.
In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by grandson, Edmund Thimsen, and nephew, Sean Hittmeier.
Memorials may be made to Immanuel Lutheran Church or the Mt. Olive Public Library.
Online condolences may be left at www.beckerandson.com.
