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Janet Kay Kessler, 87, of Creston, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her loving family May 7, 2023.
Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 a.m. Monday, May 15 at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Creston. Father Patrick Amedeka will officiate the service. Burial will be in Graceland Cemetery in Creston. Open visitation, with family receiving friends will be 1-4 p.m. Sunday, May 14, with sharing time at 3:30 p.m. and a rosary to follow at Powers Funeral Home in Creston.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are kindly suggested to the family for a bench and to St. Malachy. Online condolences can be given at www.powersfh.com.
Janet Kay Kelly was born July 17, 1935, the only child of Phillip Forman and Mary “Joy” Kelly. She graduated from Creston High School with the class of 1953 then obtained a degree in radiology at the College of Medical Technology in the Twin Cities graduating in 1955.
Robert Charles Kessler and Janet Kay Kelly met in grade school and later attended the first ever Creston Jubilee prom together in 1953. In 1956 they married on August 27 at the St. Malachy Catholic Church in Creston. They have been married for 66 years. They lived their entire life in the Creston area except during their time farming in Kent and while Robert was in the military in Rapid City, South Dakota. It is there where she met lifetime friend Dee Bunn.
Janet enjoyed working at the Eagles, managing the Crestmoor Golf Club and A&G where she met the Groumoutis family. Janet loved them and the Greek culture and subsequently was referred to as Yai Yai (YaYa) by many who knew and loved her, including her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Janet is a member of the Holy Spirt Catholic Church and the Daughters of Charity. She was a former board of directors member of the Iowa Department for the Blind and was an advocate for individuals with macular degeneration, which she also suffered from but refused to let her disability get in the way of her accomplishments. She was also a Regional Girl Scout Director even after her girls aged out of Girl Scouts.
Janet loved all holidays. She would shop and decorate for months, selecting the right gifts for everyone. She especially enjoyed traveling to Des Moines and shopping with her longtime friend, Geri Fleming. They shared many laughs and good times as did another dear friend, Donna Stringham.
Janet had a great sense of humor. She enjoyed cooking, fine dining, traveling with her family and friends and organizing trips. Her other hobbies included bowling league, playing cards at Lake Shore and art. She was an amazing artist and before she lost her sight was a beautiful painter, sculpture and decorator. Janet had the ability to talk to anyone, she made friends very easily and was loved by so many people of all ages.
She was a story teller with an eidetic memory about fun and adventure with family and friends. Yai Yai loved her family. She especially loved her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They gave her so much joy and each one knew they were the favorite.
Janet is survived by her husband, Robert Kessler; two daughters Kathy Kessler Spencer (Ronny Allison) of St. Louis, Missouri, and Camille Troy (Dennis) Jay of Bondurant; six grandchildren: Connor (Jamie) Short of Des Moines, Kelsey (Jeremy) Klein of Bondurant, Morgan Egbert of St. Louis, Garret (Kennedy) Jay of Rochester, Minnesota, Jacque (Jake) Tripp of Lenox and Brody (Hanna) Jay of Creston; eight great-grandchildren: Kennedy, Addie, Vivi, Natalie, Lauren, Brixon, Quinton, Ben and another on the way in August 2023, and two nieces: JoAnn (Darren) Nauman and Jarita (Doug - deceased) Heidebrink.
Janet was preceded in death by her parents Phillip Foreman Kelly and Mary Joy Kelly Trottier; her in-laws Ernest and Lucy Kessler; her brother-in-law, John Kessler and wife Carol Kessler McFee.