John A. Jansen, 79, of Effingham, passed away peacefully at home at 12:05 p.m. Friday, November 25, 2011.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, November 30 at St. Mary's Help of Christians Church, Green Creek. Visitation will be held 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, November 29 at St. Mary's Church, Green Creek with a prayer service at 7 p.m. Burial will be in St. Mary Green Creek Cemetery with military rites by the Sigel American Legion. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Sigel St. Michael's Gym Fund or the Ballard Nature Center.

John was born April 16, 1932, in rural Effingham the son of Ben and Eva (Funneman) Jansen. He married Judy Fuesting on June 24, 1961 at Sacred Heart Church, Effingham. He attended Green Creek School and graduated from Teutopolis High School in 1950. He served during the Korean War from 1952 to 1954 and was awarded three battle stars and the Distinguished Unit Citation and Presidential Unit Citation, while serving with the 245th Tank Battalion, 45th Division. He was honorably discharged with rank of Sergeant First Class.

John graduated from Alexian Brothers Hospital School of Nursing in 1958. He graduated from St. Johns School of Nurse Anesthesia in 1960 and was a Nurse Anesthetist at St. Anthony Memorial Hospital for 40 years.

He served on Teutopolis Unit 50 School Board from 1968 to 1974 and one term on Lake Land College Lay Advisory Board. John was a member of The American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, Illinois Association of Nurse Anesthetists, Trustee for two terms on the Illinois Association of Nurse Anesthetists Association, and a charter member of the Southern Illinois Nurse Anesthetists Association, Mt. Vernon, Illinois. He taught high school religion at St. Mary's Green Creek for 17 years and was a member of the Holy Name Society. He helped organize and compose the centennial history of St. Mary's Church in 1985. John was an active member of the American Threshermans Association serving 14 years as a board member. He was a charter member of the Massey Harris Collectors of Illinois and a member of the Massey Harris Collectors of America.

John is survived by his wife Judy; three children, Marietta (Neil) Werthmann of Newburg, Indiana, Carol (Robert) Higgins of London, England and Roger (Carla) Jansen of Effingham; nine grandchildren, Neil, Vince and Catherine Werthmann, Kurt, Olivia, Max, and Nick Higgins, Luke and Leah Jansen; two brothers Tony (Mardell) and Ben (Helen) Jansen of Effingham.

He was preceded in death by one son, Vincent; brothers, Ed, Virgil, and Charles and sisters Florence Schuette, Alice Hoene, Louise Jansen, Alma Steffen, and Catherine Beckman.