Jane Greimann

Jane was born January 25, 1942 in Klemme, Iowa to Chet and Ina Mae (Jarchow) Renner. There she grew up on the farm learning to love horses, holding leadership position in 4-H, and graduating from Klemme High School in 1960.

Jane acquired a degree from Iowa State University in Textile and Clothing in 1964 and a teaching certificate in 1980. One week following graduation, Jane married Lowell Greimann in Klemme, Iowa on June 7, 1964. They moved to Boulder, Colorado where Jane worked as a seamstress and then office worker to support her husband’s further education and proudly bore their first son, Chad. The young family moved to San Antonio where their second son, Blair, was born. While in Texas, Jane worked with children in the Hispanic community and low-income adults. The Greimanns returned to Ames in 1973 to be nearer parents and grandparents. Jane flew to Chicago in 1975 to bring home their adopted daughter, Amy, who just arrived from Vietnam.

Jane taught art, health, and family and consumer science at Nevada Junior High for sixteen years. While teaching, she worked on studies of student health with regard to cholesterol, helped to start a breakfast program, taught parenting classes, made a five week trip to Russia in 1992 and sat on the Board of Eastern Story County Youth and Shelter Services. Jane retired from full-time employment in 1998.

Jane served in almost every volunteer position at Collegiate Presbyterian Church, including chair of the most recent pastor search committee, elder, deacon, Sunday school teacher for both children and adults, co-leader of mid-week program for children, the Walk Through Bethlehem Project and other committees.

She served in the House of Representatives in the Iowa Legislature for five years and was on committees such as public education funding, human services, environment, judicial, human resources, and natural resources. She was on the Mid-Iowa Community Action Board and Hawk-I-State Board. Jane believed in more preventive programs and more humane sentencing laws in our corrections system.

Volunteering for several service activities in her community, including President of the Local League of Women Voters, Democratic caucus organizer, Ames Public Art Commission (Jane initiated Art Around the Corner in downtown Ames) and the Education and Prevention Board of Youth and Shelter Services. She was an alumnus and supporter of the Iowa State University College of Family and Consumer Sciences (now Human Sciences) and the ISU football and basketball programs.

A broad diversity of interests kept Jane active outside of her professional and volunteer career activities: horses, friends, shade gardening, painting, clay pottery and sculpture, home improvement projects, sewing, reading, and cutting her husband’s hair.

Jane died in Ames, Iowa age 64 on Saturday, February 4, 2006. Her remains are buried at the Iowa State University Cemetery, Ames, Iowa.

Submitted on 2/20/06