Janet Heslinga

Janet Heslinga

Marion

Janet Heslinga, born October 10, 1957, in Würzburg, Germany, passed away peacefully on August 14 at the age of 66. Janet was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2015 and fought valiantly for 9 years to not let it define her or stop her from living her life.

Janet’s early years were marked by a series of moves that exposed her to diverse cultures and experiences. Her family relocated to Georgia in 1958 and settled in Tennessee in 1959. In 1961, they moved abroad to Iran, where Janet attended school for a year and a half. Her family then moved back to the United States, residing in KY, for the next three years. The family spent a year in Fremont, IA, to be near relatives while Janet’s father served in Vietnam. This was followed by another year in Cedar Rapids, IA, and subsequent moves to West Allis, WI, and Waukesha, WI, each for a year. In 1974, Janet’s family made their final move, returning to Cedar Rapids, IA, where she graduated from Linn-Mar High School in 1976.

Janet married Kevin O’Malley on July 4, 1977, and they had a son, JW, in November 1978. Although their marriage ended in divorce, Janet was blessed with a daughter, Dusty, in March 1982. Janet found love again when she met Doug Heslinga at church in 1983. The couple married on May 12, 1984, and welcomed their son, Scott, in June 1985. Janet enjoyed traveling and spent many winters down in Florida with Doug.

Her life was deeply rooted in her strong faith and love of her family. Working in food service at Linn Mar for 25 years allowed her to watch her children and their friends grow up. Additionally, she ran an in-home day care for 26 years, ensuring she could always be home when her kids returned from school.

Janet found immense joy in bringing a smile to someone’s face. That could be her handing out $2 dollar bills, hosting parties, or her beautiful gift wrapping. She had a knack for giving the most thoughtful gifts to friends and family. Her creativity and love of making things beautiful was evident in her photography, watercolor painting, floral arrangements and decorating her home. She especially loved hunting for treasures at garage sales and second-hand stores.

Janet is survived by her loving husband, Doug Heslinga; her children, JW (Angie), Dusty (Luke), and Scott (Fernie) and her sisters Kathy (Dave), Tammy (Jeff) and Maggie (Scott) and her granddaughters Tori, Zoey, Hadley and Sienna, and baby Lucia on the way, due in October, as well as many nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her mother (Geraldine) and Father (Jim) and her mother-in-Law (Gertrude) and Father-in-Law (Clyde).

A service to celebrate Janet’s life will be held at Peace Christian Reformed Church on Tuesday, August 20th at 11am. A visitation will be held the night before, Monday, August 19th from 6-8pm. Family and friends are invited to celebrate her remarkable life and share in their fond memories of Janet.

Doug and the family extend heartfelt thanks to the staff at St. Croix Hospice and all her caregivers. Janet’s enduring legacy of love and faith will continue to inspire all who knew her. She will be profoundly missed but her memory will live on forever.

Please share a memory of Janet at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.