Jannette Zubrod

Jannette Zubrod, age 79 of Ionia, IA, died Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022, at her home surrounded by her family.

Funeral Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 18, 2022, at Hugeback – Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory in New Hampton with Rev. Brian Dellaert officiating.

Interment will be held at St. Mary’s Cemetery, North Washington with Bobby Zubrod, Tucker Colsch, JT Gantenbein, Bryce Wilbur, Peyton Wilbur, Dustin Crowson, and Dylan Vassar serving as pallbearers.

Friends may greet the family from 4-7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, at Hugeback – Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory in New Hampton. Visitation continues an hour prior to the service at the funeral home on Friday.

Jannette was born on Oct. 15, 1942, to Donald and Rosella (Marvin) Crooks and grew up with her two sisters and one brother — first in Charles City and then near Ionia. She attended country school for a couple of years before receiving the rest of her education in New Hampton.

She married Bob Zubrod on Sept. 27, 1959, at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, and the couple settled in Charles City for a few years before moving to their farm in the Ionia area.

Their family was blessed with four children — Allen, Bruce, Cheryl, and Dawn — who had a mother that was simply the best. Jannette was a great practical joker and was always laughing. She was the kindest mother and always there whenever her kids needed to talk. The Zubrod kids remember their mom could chew gum, talk, and put lipstick on without missing a beat, and that Mom loved to wear high heels and was always doing her fair share of shenanigans.

Jannette could drive or ride anything — when she first met Bob, they loved to go horseback riding, and over the years she had her own motorcycle and her own snowmobile. She was a card shark who loved a good game! Jannette, also, loved music. She and Bob enjoyed going to local ballrooms to dance, and her children fondly remember the nights when their dad would play the guitar and be accompanied by their mom’s beautiful singing voice.

She was also a one-of-a-kind cook and baker, and those that had her sticky buns or pies always went home happy, and trust us, Jannette kept up a sparking house; in fact, she was pretty OCD when it came to cleaning.

Jannette took a job at Sara Lee and worked on the “Bavarian Line” for 25 years, where her co-workers always said that working a 10-hour shift with Jannette didn’t feel like work because she was so fun to be around.

As much as she loved her children, she absolutely adored her 11 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, who could do no wrong in Grandma’s eyes!

This remarkable woman has left those who knew her with so many good memories, and although her family and friends are mourning her loss, it is those memories that will bring smiles to their faces for years to come.

Jannette is survived by her husband of more than 62 years, Bob of Ionia; three children, Allen (Angela) Zubrod of Big Cabin, Oklahoma, Cheryl Colsch of Bonita Springs, Florida, and Dawn (Jonathan) Wilbur of Ackworth; 11 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and one brother, Darrell (Sandra) Crooks of Ionia.

She was preceded in death by her parents; one son, Bruce Zubrod; and two sisters.