Jeannette Rommereim

Jeannette “Jan” Rommereim, age 87, passed away on Saturday, July 6, 2024, at The Neighborhoods at Brookview in Brookings, SD.  Visitation will be from 5-6 P.M. on Wednesday, July 10th at Eidsness Funeral Home.  Funeral services will be 11:00 A.M. on Friday, July 12th at Trinity Lutheran Church in Mason City, Iowa with burial to follow at Memorial Park Cemetery in Mason City.  Eidsness Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.  

Jeannette “Jan” Dahl was born on August 14, 1936, in Baldwin, Wisconsin, the daughter of Sven and Grace (Klingenberg) Dahl.  The family moved and lived in Chicago until Jan turned 13, when they moved to Baldwin, WI again in 1950.  Jan graduated from Baldwin High School in 1954.  She continued her education at Minnesota School of Business for one year and was employed in Minneapolis, MN and Eau Claire, WI.

Jan was given Al Boelman’s name to write to while he was in the army in Korea.  When Al returned, they met in person and they were married in 1956.  They moved to Mason City, Iowa where Al worked for Northwestern Bell Telephone CO.  Their first daughter, Kristine, was born in 1958.  A second daughter, Mary, was born in 1960.  The family then moved to Iowa Falls, Iowa in 1960, and Jan worked as a school secretary while in Iowa Falls.  They relocated back to Mason City for Northwestern Bell Telephone in 1967 where she began working as school secretary at the high school.  She later transferred to Jefferson Elementary School where she worked for an additional 18 years.

Jan was very active in her community over the years.  She was a former secretary to the Trinity Church Council, sat on the Board of Directors of KCMR radio, was a Lutheran Brotherhood Branch board member, enjoyed the Son’s of Norway, and was a member of the Iowa Association of Educational Secretaries.  She was president of the Mason City Women’s Club and enjoyed being a docent at the Meredith Willson Music Man Square, as well as volunteering for the Red Cross.

After their retirements, Al and Jan began spending their winters in the South, first in Florida, then Texas, Arizona and finally Palm Desert, California.  They both were avid golfers, so they enjoyed being where they could play golf almost daily.

Al and Jan also enjoyed a church sponsored trip to Denmark and Norway which was a bucket list trip for them.  Later on, Jan won a Caribbean cruise to the ports of call in the central Caribbean area, which they loved.

Al passed away in November of 2005.  Jan continued to winter in California.  She met and married Duane Rommereim in 2008 and ended their marriage six years later.

Jan’s health began to fail, so she moved to Brookings, SD in 2015, to be near her daughter, Mary, who was her faithful caregiver.  She was a member of Ascension Lutheran Church in Brookings, SD.

Survivors include her daughters, Kristine K. Dahl and Alex Yanez of Phoenix, AZ, and Mary (Darryl) Oien Reed of Brookings, SD; grandson, John Oien of Brookings and granddaughter, Mary Ruth Oien of Los Angeles, CA.  She was preceded in death by her parents, and husband, Al; and brother, Robert.