Janet Kay Schiemann

1947 - 2021

Janet Kay Schiemann, 73, died on Saturday, December 4, 2021, at her home, surrounded by her family.
Janet was born on December 30, 1947, in Grayling, Michigan, the daughter of Austin E. and Dora (Thomas) Sullivan. She grew up in Gladwin and attended Gladwin High School.
On June 5, 1965, at the Gladwin First Methodist Church, she married the love of her life, Kenneth "Ken" Charles Schiemann. They resided in Beaverton, Michigan from 1965 to 1987, where they started their family, having two sons, Brian and Scott; and a daughter, Johanna. In 1987, they moved to East Jordan, Michigan.
Janet's love for education and children led her to work for both Beaverton and East Jordan Public Schools as a teachers assistant for a combined 30 years. She officially retired in 2004. Many in East Jordan will remember her as the "Focus Room Lady," where she helped to get students back on track with their behavior and studies. She did this by using equal amounts of love and support.
In her free time, she enjoyed sewing, camping, gardening, and tending to the fruit orchard near her home with her husband, Ken, by her side. The peaches will forever be sweeter because of her. Ken and Janet also bowled for many years in a mixed doubles bowling league. Janet's ultimate passion, however, was her love of quilting.
Over the last 20 years she has made countless beautiful quilts as gifts for family members and friends. She loved taking quilting classes, looked forward to attending quilt retreats, and made several cherished friendships along the way. The love she poured into making her quilts will be forever cherished by all who were fortunate to receive one of her masterpieces.
Janet was a constant giver and donated her time and talents to several community organizations. She was an active member of the East Jordan Snowmobile Club since 1988, volunteered for over 20 years at the Care & Share Food Pantry, and prepared weekend food backpacks for elementary aged children at EJPS. She attended the First Presbyterian Church of East Jordan.
Janet is survived by her husband, Kenneth Charles Schiemann of East Jordan; three children, Brian (Beth) Schiemann of Gladwin, Scott (Tresha) Schiemann of Petoskey and Johanna (Steve) Wiltfong of Pickford; seven grandchildren, Kurtis (Chandler) Schiemann, Kyle (Amber) Schiemann, Ashley (Kyle) Riddle, Kaylyn Schiemann, Karlie (Dalton) Muma, Kaylee Wiltfong and Kaden Wiltfong; five great-grandchildren, Cooper, Lennyn, Scotty, Otto and Porter; five siblings, William Sullivan of Bruneau, Idaho, Jean Smith of Houghton Lake, Rhonda (Art) Goodwin of Gladwin, Michael Sullivan of Birch Run and Bobby Sullivan of Gladwin; two sisters-in-law, Mary E. Sullivan of Gladwin and Carol Fry of Olympia, Washington; one brother-in-law, Dennis Short of Gladwin; several nieces, nephews and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents; sisters, DeeAnn Short and JoAnn Sullivan; brothers, Ronald Lee Sullivan and David Sullivan; brothers-in-law, Ted Smith and Marion Fry; sisters-in-law, Debbie Sullivan and Edna Sullivan; and great-grandson, Aurik Morales.
A memorial service will be held on Thursday, December 16, at 12 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of East Jordan, located at 207 Williams St, East Jordan, MI 49727. The family will receive guests for visitation at 11 a.m. with a luncheon to follow the service, also at the church. Anyone unable to attend, the service will be livestreamed on East Jordan Presbyterian Church's Facebook page.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to be directed to the First Presbyterian Church of East Jordan, East Jordan Ambulance Association or the East Jordan Snowmobile Club. The family was served by the Penzien Funeral Homes, Inc., East Jordan.