March 16, 2017 – West Bend, WI – Janet Lillian Reichert (nee Hembel) passed away peacefully on Wednesday, March 15, 2017 at the age of 103 years.
Janet was born on May 22, 1913 to Henry J. and Emma (nee Schmidt) Hembel. She graduated from West Bend High School, class of 1931. The following year, she completed the teaching program at Fond du Lac Normal School, and graduated from UW Oshkosh in 1967. She began teaching at 19 years of age.
Janet married the late Reuben Reichert on June 6, 1936 at Peace Reformed Church in Jackson. After marriage, the couple built their home in the Town of Polk and lived there until 2011 when Jan moved to Cedar Bay West Assisted Living.
Janet taught school at Maple Lawn School as an 8th Grade teacher and in Richfield teaching 1st through 4th grade for 3 years until she was hired in Barton teaching kindergarten. Janet retired in 1978.
She was a longtime member of Peace Reformed Church and New Hope UCC in Jackson. Janet was a Sunday school teacher for many years and a member of the choir and ladies aide. Janet loved to bake for the church events and provide flowers from her garden for church services. Janet was a woman of strong faith and was attending bible study at Cedar Bay until she passed away.
Janet was also a member of the Washington County Association for Home and Community Education for 50 years. During this time, she helped form the Polk Dairy Maids group. She received many awards from different organizations and was currently a member of the WI Retired Educators Association.
Janet is survived by her sister-in-law Elizabeth Hembel and other nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends. Preceded in death by her parents, husband Reuben, sister Gladys (Theodore) Garbade and brother Jerome (Elizabeth) Hembel.
A Funeral Service for Janet will be held at 11:30 am on Saturday, March 18, 2017 at the Phillip Funeral Home Chapel of West Bend with Rev. Kathryn Kuhn presiding. Visitation will be at the funeral home on Saturday, March 18 from 10:00 am until time of service (11:30am). In lieu of flowers, memorials are appreciated to New Hope UCC (4360 Jackson Dr., Jackson, WI 53037) or Cedar Community Foundation (113 Cedar Ridge Dr., West Bend, WI 53095).
The family would like to extend a Special Thank You to the Cedar Community Assisted Living, especially the staff at Heather Lane in Cedar Bay West.