Obituaries : Hilbert W. Janssen

Hilbert W. Janssen, 96, passed away Saturday, August 30, 2025, and entered his final home in Heaven.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM Saturday, September 6, 2025 at St. John Lutheran Church in Newhall, with Pastor Steven Rempfer officiating. Visitation will be from 9:00 AM until 10:30 AM, Saturday, also at the church. A luncheon will follow the service.  Interment with graveside military rites will be at 1:30 PM Saturday at St. John Lutheran Cemetery, Newhall.  Memorials may be directed to Central Lutheran School, The Newhall American Legion, or Hospice Compassus.

Hilbert was born September 20, 1928, on the family farm south of Vinton, Iowa, to August and Elizabeth (Kranz) Janssen.  He graduated from Newhall High School with the class of 1946.  He married Mary LeClere on July 1, 1951, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Cedar Rapids.  Hilbert served his Country in the United States Army.  Hilbert and Mary were stationed at Fort Richardson in Anchorage, AK, from 1951 to 1953, during the Korean Conflict. They farmed and raised their nine children on the family farm all of their lives.  Following Mary’s passing in 2012, Hilbert continued to live on the farm where he was born until moving to Vinton in May of this year.

Hilbert was a member of St. John Lutheran Church, and the John Ward McGranahan American Legion Post #167 in Newhall.  He loved to drive in the country, checking the crops and enjoying the beauty of rural Iowa.  He had a special fondness for his John Deere lawn mower and used it any chance he had.  Hilbert was a man of great faith, and demonstrated many acts of kindness towards others, even strangers. He never missed a chance to share that we all need Jesus Christ as our Savior.

Hilbert is survived by his sons, Randy (Catherine) Janssen, Van Horne, Rodney (Shannon) Janssen, David (Jenny) Janssen and Kurt (Carrie) Janssen, all of Vinton; daughters, Jodie Olson, Menomonie, Wis., Julie (Scott) Hansen, Vinton, Jackie (Gregg) Koss, Swisher and Jeri (Tom) Thompson and Jeanne Dennis, both of Marion; 22 grandchildren; 36 great-grandchildren; 1 great-great-grandchild; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; wife Mary; son-in-law, Darrel Olson; great-grandson Justin Coots; two sisters, Berniece Cottrell, and Ruth Scheetz; and his brother Lawrence Janssen.

Online condolences: www.phillipsfuneralhomes.com