Frank L. Keszei Funeral Home, Essling Chapel, LaPorte, is handling the arrangements for Jeanne (Zorich) Janisch, a longtime resident of LaPorte, who passed away peacefully on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, at The Forum at Brookside in Louisville, Ky. She was 94.
The daughter of Steven Zorich and Anna Pongracic (both born in Yugoslavia), Mrs. Janisch was a first-generation American born on February 5, 1924, in Wakefield, Mich. She served in the U.S. Army near the end of World War II as a member of the Women’s Army Corps.
Mrs. Janisch married the love of her life, Carl Janisch, on March 2, 1946 in Cleveland, Ohio. She enjoyed dancing with him to music by the band “Middle of the Road.” Although he preceded her in death on Aug. 11, 2009, she was comforted whenever she saw a cardinal fly by: it was a sign that he was always with her. The beloved matriarch of her family, she lived for Christmas and hosted decades of Christmas dinners that her children and grandchildren cherished. She also enjoyed casinos, with winning streaks that both stunned and delighted her family, and she took no prisoners in poker and Rummikub.
Mrs. Janisch managed the Boston Middle School and Kesling Middle School food services in LaPorte. She was a devoted member of St. Joseph Catholic Church and volunteered at LaPorte Hospital and the St. Joseph Curiosity Shop. She remained physically active until her later years and spent the last five years in the care of her loving son, Carl.
Her parents and nine siblings preceded her in death.
She is survived by one brother, Robert Zorich of Pipestone, Minn.; four children: Jerry Janisch (Sue) of Valley Center, Calif.; Judie (Janisch) Foster of Phoenix, Ariz., Carol (Janisch) Beaudu of San Diego, Calif., and Carl Janisch II of Louisville, Ky; three grandchildren: Dennis Strieter II (Brandi) of Phoenix, Ariz., Jennifer Janisch (Said Rifai) of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Juliana Janisch (Adam Brant) of East Grand Rapids, Mich.; and two great-grandchildren, Dennis Strieter III and William Strieter, both of Phoenix, Ariz.
Visitation will be Tuesday, Oct. 9, from 3 to 7 p.m. at Frank L. Keszei Funeral Home, Essling Chapel, LaPorte. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in LaPorte on Wednesday, Oct. 10, at 10 a.m., with burial to follow at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in LaPorte.
Messages of condolence may be posted below on WNLP as well as at www.esslingfuneralhome.com.