Jane A. "Jan" Speer

Jane Annora (Jan) Speer, 91, of rural Kirkwood IL went to her heavenly home on December 30, 2020. She passed away while residing at Monmouth Nursing Home after a long fight with dementia and complications of Covid-19.

A sheltered and open air visitation will be at the family farm on Saturday, January 9, 2021 at 456 US HWY 34, Kirkwood, IL from 12:00 until 2:00 pm. A private service and burial will follow at Center Grove Cemetery, Kirkwood, Illinois. Reverend Brandon Ouellette will officiate. Turnbull Funeral Home of Monmouth, Illinois is assisting the family.

Jan was born to Fred and Hazel (Garvey) Peasley in La Harpe, Illinois on May 31, 1929. She graduated from La Harpe High School, then attended Monmouth College, and later from Illinois State University with degrees in education and home economics. She did a summer study in Norway, which she loved.  She married Richard “Dick” Speer of rural Kirkwood in 1954 and they honeymooned in Europe.  She then began homemaking and raising their children on the family farm. They returned to Norway for their 50th Anniversary.  They lived on the farm until their move to Courtyard Estates in Monmouth and then Monmouth Nursing Home.  He preceded her in death in 2018.  They were lovingly married for sixty-four years.

Jan taught home economics at Eastland High School in Eastland, Illinois before marrying, and was a substitute teacher for many area high schools. She later worked for the Mississippi Valley Council of Girl Scouts, now The Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois. She was involved in Girl Scouts from her childhood and volunteered long after officially retiring. She was also a Cub Scout den mother. She loved Little House on the Prairie and made dolls that were sold at the visitor’s center of the Laura Ingalls Wilder home in Mansfield, Missouri

Jan was known as kind, civic minded, and helpful. She always saw the good in everyone. She was a member of Faith United Presbyterian Church, and served there in various capacities. Jan was a valued member of numerous organizations. They included PEO Sisterhood (Chapter T), Homemaker’s Extension, the Doll Lending Library at Jamison Center, Warren County Doll Club (now West Central Illinois Doll Club), the Kirkwood Bicentennial celebrations, Buchanan Center for the Arts, Eastern Star, and Kirkwood Senior Center, among others. Jan loved crafting and watercolor painting, and wrote and illustrated a series of books about “The Clothespin Kids.” Every year she would create a Christmas piñata for her grandchildren. She and Dick enjoyed many Elderhostel trips and traveled when they could.

Jan is survived by sons David F. (Ann) Speer, Daniel T. (Katy) Speer, and daughter Deborah S. (Larry) Lawson. She is also survived by five grandchildren: Hazel (Emmet) Sims, Dr. Lucinda Lawson (Dr. Josh Miller), Joni (Clark) Simpson, George (Christine) Lawson, and Will Lawson (Julia Fornek), ten great grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Jan was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, and beloved granddaughter Emily Speer, for whom the Clothespin Kids books were created. She was also preceded in death by her sister Pat and sister-in-law Marian, and their husbands. Pat and Marian were roommates at University of Illinois and arranged for Dick and Jan to meet.

Memorials may be made to Faith United Presbyterian Church of Monmouth, Illinois, The Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois, and PEO Chapter T for Projects.

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