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Jeanna Ann (Meyer) Hansel, of Blair, passed away Saturday, September 16, 2017, at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha at the age of 50. She was born on August 6, 1967, in Pawnee City to Bonnie Jean (Gordon) Meyer and Johnie Arnold Meyer.

Jeanna was baptized and confirmed at the Zion Lutheran Church in Pawnee City. Jeanna graduated from Pawnee City High School in 1986 and attended college at Southeast Community College in Beatrice in the field of nursing. She immediately started working as a nurse and lived on the family farm in Pawnee City until 1986. On September 6, 1986, she married William Hansel at the Zion Lutheran Church in Pawnee City. During marriage, they resided in Tecumseh until they moved to Pawnee City in 1989. On July 14, 1990, William and Jeanna welcomed home twin girls, Amber Jean and Amanda Lynn. Three years later, on July 2, 1993, they welcomed home a third girl, Ashley Ann. Years ago, Jeanna was a Girl Scout and 4-H leader, helped coach softball and Junior Olympic Track and Field.

In August 2002, she and her family moved to Fairbury, where she continued working in the nursing field. In December 2007, she began working at the Jefferson County Highway Department as an Administrative Assistant. In recent years, Jeanna spent time enjoying interior decorating, crafts, listening to music, spending time with family and friends, planning her daughter’s wedding, and attending both children and grandchildren events they participated in. Family was the most important part of her life. She will always be known for her care for others, her strength, and her overall passion for living life to the fullest.

She leaves to cherish her memory: her husband, William Hansel of Blair; her daughters, Amanda Lynn Hansel of Exeter, Amber Jean (Hansel) Gill and husband, Tyler Dean Gill of Fairbury, and Ashley Ann Hansel and fiancé, Jorden David Markwardt of Kearney. She also leaves behind grandchildren: Braylee Marie Gill, Avery Mae Gill, Maxton Joseph Gill, and upcoming Anna Jean Gill, all of Fairbury.

She was predeceased by her mother, Bonnie Jean (Gordon) Meyer; her father, Johnie Arnold Meyer; and her brother, John Eugene Meyer.

She will be deeply missed by family, friends, her three dogs; Cocoa, Dogee, and Harley, and all who knew her.

Services will be at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, September 20th at Zion Lutheran Church, Pawnee City. Officiating will be Reverend Tim Llewellyn. Visitation will be on Tuesday, September 19th from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., with family greeting friends from 6 to 8 p.m. at Wherry Mortuary, 919 G Street, Pawnee City. Interment will be at the Pawnee City Cemetery, Pawnee City. Memorials to family choice. Online condolences may be left at www.wherrymortuary.com.

Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clipping on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.

Published in the Pilot-Tribune October 10, 2017

Blair resident, mother of 3 married high school sweetheart

For those who knew Jeanna Hansel, it was easy to love her — she was always equipped with an infectious smile and a word of kindness. She exercised generosity and humility in all that she did and she never raised an eyebrow when one of her three daughters snuck a bite of her cookie dough.

On Sept. 26, the Blair resident's life ended after a battle with primary sclerosing cholangitis, a disease that causes inflammation and fibrosis of the bile ducts inside and outside the liver. Jeanna was 50 years old.

She left behind three daughters — twins Amber and Amanda, 27, and youngest daughter, Ashley, 24 — as well as her beloved husband and high school sweetheart, Bill.

The two met after a night of classic summer cool. Bill cruised by Jeanna’s silver Pontiac Trans Am in an identical blue one. Each vehicle was loaded with friends.

After the cars came to a halt, Jeanna asked if he’d like to drive around together instead.

In 1986, the same year Jeanna graduated from high school, she and Bill married.

“Everyone we meet, they always say, ‘We feel like we were a part of your family,’” Ashley said. “That’s her. That’s everything she’s taught us — how accepting she is of everyone, and how she made everyone feel important.”

Jeanna’s legacy lives on not only in her daughters and husband, but in her grandchildren: Braylee, 5; Avery, 3; and Maxton, 2 — all Amber’s children. In November, Amber is expecting a fourth.

“The baby is a girl and she will be named Anna Jean,” Amber said. “'Anna' coming from the last four letters of Jeanna, and ‘Jean’ coming from the first four.’”

Each daughter cited her mother’s appreciation for cleanliness and pride in her appearance.

“If my mom was known for anything, it would be the pride she took in being presentable,” Amanda said. “Even on her gloomiest and unhealthiest days, she looked pristine. She took pride in the way she looked and how other people viewed her, and she instilled in us the importance of taking pride in your appearance and valuing yourself.”

Her daughters describe Jeanna as a superstar mom and grandma to her family, which was the most important thing in the world to her. She and Bill never missed a game, recital, concert or doctor’s appointment for her daughters and grandchildren, no matter how Jeanna was feeling. Even at her darkest, her daughters remember seeing a smile on her face.

“My mom went above and beyond the title of a mother,” Amanda recalls. “When I say my sisters and I were blessed with the best, that can never be argued differently.”

Jeanna had many passions — baking decadent cookies and cakes for all to enjoy, fast cars, camping, crafting and music. Her favorite song was “Fight Like Hell” by Tucker Beathard, a powerful county-rock ballad spouting a message with which Jeanna identified — never give up.

“When the name 'Jeanna Hansel' is spoken aloud, I don’t want people to remember the disease and battle she fought, but who she was as a person,” Amanda said. “She was a passionate, caring and lovable human being who was taken from this world far too soon.”