Dorothy E. Janssen, 92

Legal Secretary; Loved to Travel

Dorothy E. Janssen, 92, of Lincoln, died peacefully in her sleep on Jan. 14, 2012. She had been a resident of Independence House at Northview in Lincoln and was under the care of Pathways to Compassion Hospice.

A memorial service and inurnment will be held in Blair at a later date.

Dorothy Elizabeth "Betty" Krogh was born Nov. 27, 1919, on a farm in Riley, Alberta, Canada, to Raymond F. and Leta (Paradies) Krogh. She and her family returned to Nebraska in 1926 and she grew up in Blair in the family home built by her grandfather, Carl O. Krogh. Her great-grandparents were among the earliest pioneers of eastern Nebraska.

She graduated from Blair High School in 1937 at the top of her class, and attended college classes in California and Texas. Prior to her marriage to Robert J. Janssen of Iowa in 1943, she worked as a secretary in Blair, Omaha and the San Francisco, Calif., area. The Janssens had three children while living in Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska.

From 1961 until her retirement in 1985, she worked as a legal secretary and office manager in the Hall County Attorney's office and the law offices of Ken Elson in Grand Island, and was a member of the Grand Island Legal Secretaries' Association.

Above all, she was known as a Nebraska Cornhuskers fan. She loved to travel and had visited more than 20 countries, many through Elderhostel. She volunteered in Grand Island at the public library, the Veterans Hospital, the Red Cross, and the American Heart Association, in addition to St. Mary's Cathedral parish, where she served in the Altar Society and Catholic Daughters.

Other lifelong interests included Democratic party politics, bridge, cooking, gardening, knitting, sewing and reading, especially history.

She is survived by her daughters, Sandra Coy of Wayland Mass., and Marilyn Lamont of Garden Grove, Calif.; five grandchildren; sister, Marjorie Hanson of Tracy, Calif., and brother, Bob Krogh of Blair; and nephews, nieces and grandnephews and grandnieces in Nebraska, Massachusetts, Minnesota and California.

In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to St. Mary's Cathedral, 204 S. Elm Street, Grand Island, NE 68801; Central Catholic High School, 1200 Ruby Ave., Grand Island, NE 68803; Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation, One Intrepid Square, West 46th Street and 12th Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10036; or Heifer Project International, PO Box 8058, Little Rock, AR 72203.

Aspen Cremation & Burial Service in Lincoln is in charge of arrangements.