Janice Granner

Janice Butler Granner passed away peacefully in Seward, Nebraska on Sept. 2, 2023.  Funeral services will be Friday September 15 at 10:30 am at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Eldora, Iowa.  Visitation will be Thursday September 14^th from 4-7 PM at Abels Funeral Home in Eldora.  In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Good Shepherd Preschool, Eldora, Dorothy’s Senior Center in Eldora, or to the family c/o Tammy Mackie, 847 N. 6^th Street, Seward, NE  68434. 

Alma Janice Butler was born on a farm near Owasa, Iowa on January 14, 1932, to Milo and Ethel Mae (Gast) Butler.  She attended Owasa Consolidated School, graduating in 1949.  Janice graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls in 1952 with an elementary teaching degree. She taught 3^rd grade for 3 years in Grundy Center, and 5^th grade in Iowa Falls for part of one year.  She later taught at the Good Shepherd Preschool at St. Paul Lutheran Church for 15 years, serving as director for many of those years. 

Janice met her husband, Stanley, in the 1^st grade at Owasa.  They started dating their junior year in high school and were married on June 5, 1954, at the First Baptist Church in Eldora.  They farmed the Granner family farm for 43 years.  They were active members of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Eldora, where Janice was a member of LWML and the Priscilla Guild, and taught confirmation classes for many years.  Stanley and Janice raised three children – Tammy, Todd and Andy - and were always willing to volunteer for 4-H, Little League, or youth group activities as needed.  Family was important to Janice, and their home often served as a gathering place for family, especially for the Butler and Granner cousins. 

Janice and Stanley retired to Eldora in 1997.  They served on church committees and boards, delivered Meals on Wheels, and were active at Dorothy’s Senior Center.  They loved to travel, especially to visit their grandchildren and other family members all around the country.  They also took trips to Hawaii, Germany, Austria and England. 

Janice was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Stanley, her sister Norma Butler Whiting and her brother George Butler.  She is survived by her children Tammy Granner Mackie (David), of Seward, NE; Todd Granner (Bretta) of Atlantic, IA; and Andy Granner (Jami) of Sacramento, CA.  Left to cherish her memory as an awesome Grandma are Chris Mackie, Seward, NE; Carlin (Ayshia) Mackie-Stephensen, New Orleans, LA; Caitlin Mackie, Huntsville, AL; Curtis Mackie, Lincoln, NE; Ben Granner, Sacramento, CA; Emma Granner (Quenton Hagen), Sacramento, CA; Kelsey Granner, Sacramento, CA; Clay Stevens (Kara), Roseville, CA; and Sam Granner, Atlantic, IA. She is also survived by two great-grandchildren, Shepard James Stevens (2 years) and Brixton Cruz Logun Hagen (11 months), her brother Charles Butler of Iowa Falls, and brother-in-law Robert Granner, Middlebury, Vermont.