Janice Babcock, age 75, of Wolsey, died Monday, November 7, 2016, at the Huron Regional Medical Center. Her funeral service was at 11:00 AM Thursday, November 10th, at St. John's Lutheran Church in Wolsey. Burial was in the St. John's Lutheran Church Cemetery.
Janice was born September 30, 1941, in Huron, to Herbert and Elaine (Christopherson) Kahre. She grew up in Wolsey and graduated from Wolsey High School and attended Northwest College of Commerce in Huron. On July 31, 1960, she married Lyle Babcock at Wolsey. Janice worked as a secretary at Farmers and Merchants Bank for several years before she and Lyle moved to Sioux Valley, Minnesota. During the ten years the family lived there, Janice was employed at the State Line Club as a waitress. In 1977, they returned to Wolsey. For the next thirty years, Lyle and Janice owned and operated B & K Locker in Wolsey along with help from all of their family. Cleaning pheasants was a big part of their work during hunting season and Janice particularly enjoyed visiting with the returning out-of-state hunters every year. After the locker closed, Janice had been working for Home Care Services.
Though Janice was busy with her employment and business through the years, she always found time for others. In particular, she attended her grandchildren's sports and other activities, rarely missing any of them. She was an avid Warbird and Warrior fan and volunteered her time making sandwiches for the Wolsey-Wessington football team for many years. She belonged to St. John's Lutheran Church and was also active in the Wolsey Business Association and Onward Wolsey. She helped organize the Wolsey Game Feed and volunteered at it every year. For her dedication to the Wolsey community, Janice was honored as Citizen of the Year in Wolsey.
In spite of all her other time commitments, Janice was meticulous about keeping her house clean, and enjoyed baking treats to share with her family, watched her Minnesota Vikings play football, played cards in a couple of card clubs but especially enjoyed playing cards with her grandkids, crocheted and did other crafts. She enjoyed Facebook and keeping up with all of her Facebook friends and family.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Herbert and Elaine (Christopherson) Kahre; parents-in-law, Gordon and Clarice Babcock; one sister-in-law, Paulette Kahre; one brother-in-law, Larry Johnson; and one niece, Melissa Sprecher.
Grateful for having shared her life are her husband, Lyle of Wolsey; three children, James (Sherry) Babcock of Wolsey, Shelly Keltgen of Olivia, Minnesota, and Shauna (Joel) Kemnitz of Wolsey; seven grandchildren, Alex Babcock (fiancé Megan Robinson), Tyler Babcock, Jordan Keltgen, Brittany Keltgen, Breanna (fiancé Anthony Brunello) Keltgen, Austin Kemnitz and Payton Kemnitz; two brothers, Daniel Kahre of Wolsey and Alan (Laraine) Kahre of Wolsey; one brother-in-law, Dean (Sandy) Babcock of Arizona; and one sister-in-law, Marcia Johnson of Pierre.