Marian Elliott Janss

Marian Amy (Simons) (Elliott) Janss was born on September 6, 1921, in Barron, Wisconsin. Her parents were Charles Clifford Simons and Della Lavinia Maile. In Wisconsin, Marian’s father worked for Della’s brother-in-law on a farm growing peas and worked in the woods in the winter. In 1924, Marian, her parents, older sister Dorothy (1920), and younger sister Pauline (1924) moved back to Greene County, IA where Charles began his dairy herd and raising Duroc hogs. (Marian’s younger brother, who was born in 1927, lived for two weeks, and sister, Mona, was later born in 1929.) Marian’s mother died in childbirth in 1931. Due to bad roads and weather, Della’s Wisconsin sister could not get back to Iowa in time to give Della a blood transfusion. (She had Della’s blood type.) Before she went to the hospital, Della gathered the girls and told them to always be good little girls and to say their prayers every night. One night, Dorothy, Marian, Pauline, and Mona were informed by their grandmother to go down to the basement because their dad wanted to talk to them. Charles gathered the girls in his arms, and for the first time, they saw their father cry. He told them their mother had gone to Heaven. Eventually, Marian’s father married Edith Antrim who was a loving step mother to the girls. Edith also later gave birth to two daughters, Shirley and Dixie. While in Iowa, Marian worked as a bookkeeper and “parts lady” at Norris Garage in Centerville, Iowa. She eloped in December 1939 to Forest Elliott, Sr. They drove to Texas on their honeymoon in Forest’s 1934 Ford V-8 roadster with a “rumble” seat. The young couple lived for one year on the Elliott homestead near Cooper, Iowa. Forest farmed it with the assistance of Fred Elliott and Wilbur Hammer. One of Marian’s most joyful moments in her life was in October 1940, when the handsome Forest Jr., was born. In March 1941, Marian, Forest, Fred, and Junior moved to the farm just north of the Iowa / Missouri state line. Marian also lived with her father and mother-in-law there as well. Marian’s other proud moment occurred in March 1943 when her second son (and equally handsome) Gary Charles arrived. The family laid their roots in Seymour where both sons became proud Seymour High School alumni. A few years after Forest, Sr., died in December 1963 from an auto truck collision south of Cincinnati, Iowa, Marian moved to Colorado in 1968. That same year, she married Jim Janss of Boulder, Colorado. They were introduced by her sister Dorothy Woods of Superior, Colorado. In the second marriage, there were two stepsons, Alan and Steve, whom she truly welcomed into both her home and heart. (In 1994, Jim died of causes linked to his employment at the Rocky Flats nuclear plant.) Marian also loved watching the Denver Broncos as well as spending time with family. While she could still drive, she greatly enjoyed attending the Boulder Valley Christian Church. Her Sunday school class was called “Young at Heart.” She loved the trips they took each year, such as the national parks throughout the state of Utah and the West Indies. But, the most memorable expedition was to England. When Marian’s sister, Dorothy, heard about this trip, she insisted on joining her! They both ventured overseas and described the vacation as one of the high points in the lives of two small town Iowa farm girls. Marian resided in Longmont, Colorado until December 2016 when Forest, Jr. transported her to a care facility in Winterset, Iowa where her sister, Mona, also lived. On October 13, 2020, at 99 years young, she passed away peacefully in Winterset at approximately 7:51 PM with granddaughters Cindy Beenken and Natalie Elliott by her side. Marian was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Della Simons, father and mother-in-law, Arch and Jessie Elliott, brother and sister-in-law Fred and Margaret Elliott. Additionally, sisters Dorothy (Charles), Pauline (Wilbur), Mona (Richard), Dixie (Paul), step brothers Paul and Bill (Una) Antrim, son Gary Elliott, and step son Steve Janss also preceded her death. She leaves behind a tremendous legacy: her sister, Shirley (Owen), eldest son, Forest Jr. (Nasim), daughter-in-law, Karen Elliott, step son, Alan, 7 grandchildren, Jeff (Penny), Cindy (Dan), Sonya (Kevin), Jennifer, Michael (Stella), Monique, and Natalie, 11 great-grandchildren, 6 great-great-grandchildren, and countless nieces and nephews. Her family mourns her passing, and will forever remember her active, fulfilling, and triumphant life. Marian Amy Simons Elliott Janss was a true gem of the “Greatest Generation.”