Obituary of Janet Jean Johnson

Janet Jean Johnson, 81, passed away peacefully on November 15th, 2021 surrounded by her family. Jan was born December 3rd, 1939 to Verla and William Stiffler in Des Moines, IA. She always lived larger than life. Jan had many interesting jobs throughout her life including booking small bands like The Phantoms, Sticks and Stones and Max Rush. She moved to California where she worked for a company called Wolf and Rissmiller and booked bands like REO Speedwagon, Boston, and Rod Stewart. She also worked in the clothing industry for Guess brand clothing. Jan returned to Minnesota and lived in Hackensack. Jan had a passion for wanting to help those with addiction. She started and ran a treatment center in Staples called Next Step for adolescent boys. She loved helping the boys that went through the center. She also opened an outpatient program in Walker and in 2010 a center in Backus called First Step for adolescent girls.

Jan also had a strong love for her family and friends. She was blessed with 3 wonderful sons, 9 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren. Jan was an amazing cook! She always had something in the oven or on the stove. When you would ask her for a recipe she would always say, I will have to show you because I don’t measure! She taught us all how to live life to the fullest and enjoy each day. She loved to travel and spent many winters in her RV in Florida.

She will be deeply missed by her family and friends.

Jan is survived by her sons, Rick Peters and Daniel (Karla) Wahl, and daughter in law, Julie Huseth, her grandchildren Jamie, Eric, and Emily Peters, Danielle, Cody, Kya (Jesse), Anna, and Joseph Wahl, and Claire (Cody) Huseth and her 10 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her bothers Don (Becky) and David Marsh, and sister in law Linda Marsh along with her nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by her parents and stepfather Ray, brother Bob and sister Marylyn, her son Kenny, and her infant daughter Deanna.

A celebration of her life will be held at a later date.