M. Janie Kirstein, 95, Glenwood

February 7, 1916 - October 14, 2011

    M. Janie Kirstein, 95, of Glenwood, passed away Oct. 14, 2011, at Hospice with Heart in Glenwood. Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m., Oct. 20, 2011, at the St. James United Methodist Church, 1501 Franklin St., Bellevue, Neb. Visitation will be Oct. 19 at the Bellevue Memorial Chapel from 4-7 p.m.
    Janie was born Feb. 7, 1916, to Alta and Glenn Hoffman, was raised in Des Moines and graduated from Des Moines North High School. She married Jack Stafford in 1936 and they had one son, John. On May 6, 1945, she married Melvin Renne Kirstein. The family moved from Des Moines to Montezuma, Iowa and to Mason City, and ended their AT&T career in Sioux Falls, S.D. Janie and Mel were married for 45 years and had two children, Jerry and Judy.
    Janie was an active and involved individual in many service and community activities. She was a charter member of Pilot International, a district instructor and Grand Officer in the Order of Eastern Star, and was Queen in Daughters of the Nile.
    She was a real estate broker and owned and operated Hostess House Real Estate in Mason City for many years.
    Janie was a very strong Christian woman, and her faith meant very much to her. She served for many years as the lay leader in the First United Methodist Church in Sioux Falls, and she and Mel served funeral luncheons for countless families in the church.
    She is preceded in death by her parents, Glenn and Alta Hoffman; her brother C. Allen Hoffman; her son, John Stafford Kirstein; his father, Jack Stafford; and her husband, Melvin R. Kirstein.
    Janie is survived by her son Jerry and wife Judy of Ankeny; and her daughter Judy and husband Richard Nieman of Glenwood; eight grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, many nieces and nephews and friends of many years.