Janice Green Obituary

Janice M. Green, 78 of Allen, Nebraska passed away on Tuesday, May 6, 2025 at the Providence Medical Center in Wayne, Nebraska. Funeral Services were at 6:00 p.m. at the Mohr Funeral Home in Ponca, Nebraska on Friday, May 9, 2025 with Pastor Jeff Todd officiating. Visitation began at 5:00 p.m. with family present. A private family interment at Silver Ridge Cemetery was held the following week. 

Janice M. Green was born November 21, 1943 in Faulkton, South Dakota to Fred F. Stern and Opal M. Barton Stern. She was the oldest of five children. She lived in Loyalton, South Dakota until 1949 when her family moved to a farm northeast of town. She attended country school for 8 years and high school in Ipswich, South Dakota. She graduated second in her class in 1964.

Jan then attended Miltonvale Wesleyan College in Kansas for three years. College friends and acquaintances loved Jan, as a classmate and as a dorm mother. To them, she was “a very special lady”, “the sweetest mommie in Turner Hall”, and was known as “Mama Jan”.

She spent the summer of 1966 in Cleveland, Ohio with 5 other girls, working as a proofreader for Union Gospel Press. During free time, the girls toured the big city and attended an Indians baseball game. Jan spoke fondly and frequently about her Cleveland adventure, a highlight of her younger years.

On June 9, 1967, Jan married her college sweetheart, Roger W. Green, in Aberdeen, SD. Their life and ministry together began in O’Neill, Nebraska, which is where their daughter Crystal and son Jeffrey were born. In 1971, the family moved to Scottsbluff, Nebraska, where their son Bradley was born. Jan remembered their time in Scottsbluff as the best 7 years. While there, she and Roger formed long-lasting connections that seemed to “follow them wherever they went.” They also lived and ministered in three other Nebraska towns: Grand Island (1978-1982), Wayne (1982-1987), and Allen (1987-1991).

While in Wayne, Jan completed her undergraduate studies and earned a master’s degree at Wayne State College. She graduated with her B.A. and M.A. in English. She taught English as a Second Language and other classes in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Washington. She picked up the phrase “I have many homeworks” from her students and would use it at home to describe all the work she still needed to complete for the day.

In 1991, the family moved to Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Jan worked as a professor at Bartlesville Wesleyan College (now known as Oklahoma Wesleyan University), of which her alma mater was an antecedent school.

In 1994, they moved to Seattle, Washington, where Jan taught at a local college for a short time before leaving to focus on being a grandmother. When the Seattle church closed in 1998, they moved to Burien Haus Apartments, where Jan managed the office while Roger maintained the building and grounds.

In 2003, they moved to Appleton, Minnesota when Roger accepted a Chaplain position at the private prison there. Jan worked part-time as an office assistant to the Methodist Church minister in town.

Four years later in 2007, Jan was glad to relocate to Topeka, Kansas so she could be near family again. She enjoyed time with grandchildren and pursued genealogy, a hobby she was very passionate about.

Through the years, Jan longed to return to her home state of South Dakota, so after Roger retired, they purchased a home in Yankton in 2018. Due to health reasons, they decided to move back to Allen, Nebraska in 2023 to be near their son Brad, so he could assist them with daily care needs. Jan was sad to leave behind her Yankton house – it was her favorite residence. Jan and Roger lived together in a trailer home on their son’s property until December 2024, when, after a brief stay in the hospital, Jan agreed to move into Hillcrest Care Center in Laurel, Nebraska to receive a higher level of care than what could be given at home. She resided there for three months before moving to CountryView Care in Wayne, Nebraska in April 2025.

On Tuesday morning, May 6, Jan passed away unexpectedly at Providence Medical Center in Wayne.

She is survived by her husband, Roger, daughter, Crystal, son Brad and wife Libby, and daughter-in-law Karin; her sister Wanda Lemke, brother Doug Stern, and sister-in-law Cindy Stern; her grandchildren McKenna, Anja, John, Robert, Charlie, Brianna and Rebekah; her nieces and nephews Lisa Martinez, Lori Deluna-Martinez, Lynn Miller, Carissa Sovell, Lisa Gauer, Ryan Stern, Vicky Miller, and Charley Green and their families. She was preceded in death by her parents Fred and Opal Stern and parents-in-law Marvin and Grace Green, sister Mardythe Stern, brother Randy Stern, son Jeff, granddaughter Jaden, and other relatives.

Suggested Memorials: Celebrate Church in Yankton, SD; NW District Wesleyan Church, Sheridan, WY; Global Partners, Fishers, IN; and Rebekah Green Trust fund Allen, NE