Harriet Jayne was born on October 10, 1932, in rural Exira, Iowa, and died on June 20, 2024, at Audubon County Memorial Hospital in Audubon, IA, at the age of 91.
Harriet Ann Wolf was born to Julius and Cecelia (Thielen) Wolf and was baptized in the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Exira. Harriet attended country schools through eighth grade and went to Exira High School, graduating in 1951. She was united in marriage to Norman Jayne on May 24, 1952, and they had five girls Barbra Jean, Brenda Jo, Bonnie Joyce, Belinda Joy, and Breann Jan– she often joked that if she had a sixth daughter, she’d have a full team for six-on-six girls basketball! Harriet played basketball in high school (as had her mother) and loved nothing more than watching her own girls play sports, never missing their games. She will always be remembered for her unbelievably loud yell of “Hey, Hey, Hey” whenever a really good play was made.
Harriet was a homemaker during the early years of her marriage until the family moved to town in 1971 when she began working outside the home. She had many odd jobs; perhaps most memorably, she ran the concession stand at the Exira ballpark for many years and spent the last decades of her career working as a cook for Exira Schools. After her retirement, she worked at Casey’s in Exira, a job she really enjoyed. She was a very hard worker and a particularly strict housekeeper, teaching her daughters and many of her grandchildren how to keep a house clean. She was a longtime member of a bowling league and still bowled occasionally when she was well into her eighties! She also loved to play cards, participating in local Bridge and other card clubs for most of her life. She was particularly proud to have taught her daughters and most of her grandchildren how to play pinochle, a game still enjoyed at family gatherings. Harriet will be remembered for always welcoming you into her home with a warm smile and a cup of coffee.
Over the years, Norm and Harriet had 14 grandchildren, seven grandsons, and seven granddaughters: Eric, Mandy, Trever, Nathan, Marnie, Tara, Blake, Brandon, Valerie, Kadi, Morgan, Cassidy, Hunter, and Reece. She loved caring for her grandkids and hosting family for holidays at her home. Although you never knew if a visit with grandma meant you’d be playing cards or spring cleaning the house, somehow both were fun!
Harriet was an active member of Holy Trinity Catholic Church all her life, where she taught Sunday school and vacation bible school, served on the Parish Council, cleaned the church, was a member of the Altar and Rosary Society, and a Eucharistic Minister who also gave communion to the homebound. She believed the best expression of her faith was to care for others, and she spent her whole life helping family and friends. Great examples of her care for others include taking care of her aged aunts, babysitting grandchildren, volunteer work with the Exira Lions Club, or delivering meals-on-wheels to neighbors and friends.
Harriet is survived by her daughters and their husbands: Barb and Mitch Bengard of Orange City, Brenda and Lynn Wahlert of Post Falls, Idaho, Bonnie and Rob Hagen of Fort Dodge, Bo and Scott Flory of Clear Lake, and Bre and Dave Olson of Fort Dodge. Harriet is also survived by her sister Betty Simonsen of Exira and sisters-in-law Jane Wolf and Wanda Wolf of Atlantic and Kathy Sornson of Audubon, as well as 13 grandchildren, nine step-grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren, several step-great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, other relatives, and many friends.
Harriet was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Norm, her brothers Phyl, Jim, Charles, and Dave, her sister Rosemary, her grandson Nathan Knudsen, and her beloved sister-in-law Jeannie Jayne. She was also proceeded in death by her sisters-in-law Ardis Wolf and Dorothy Wolf, by her brother-in-law Carl Simonsen, by Norm’s parents Fred and Nola (Martin) Jayne, and by his siblings and their spouses: Ann and Howard Jensen, Claude and Carol Jayne, and Rilla and Chuck Sornson.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Exira, IA, with Fr. David Nkrumah as the Celebrant. The interment will take place at Holy Trinity Catholic Cemetery in Exira, IA. A luncheon will be provided following the interment at Holy Trinity Catholic Hall.
Visitation with the family will be held one hour prior to the mass at the church on Tuesday.
Funeral arrangements are handled with the Schmidt Family Funeral Home of Exira, IA.