Constance Janice "Connie" Land

Connie Land (Constance Janice Larson), of Revere, Missouri, left her earthly body for her eternal home in Heaven with Jesus Christ on February 7, 2026. Connie was born on February 17, 1943, in St. Paul, Minnesota to parents Phillip James Larson and Catherine Barbara Sanska Greski Larson. The family relocated to Monrovia, California (a suburb of Los Angeles) via train to start a new life in southern California. On this journey, Connie would walk up and down the aisles of the passenger cars gathering apples, oranges, and candies from returning service members coming home from WWII.

She attended Monrovia public schools, graduating from Monrovia High School in 1960. She then attended Pasadena City College during which she gained employment at Sven's Danish Bakery, where she would meet the love of her life Jesse (Sonny) Edward Land, Jr, who had a sweet tooth for the pastries she made there. Connie's time at the bakery contributed to her becoming the world's best pie maker. Her handmade flaky pie crust was her signature that nobody could duplicate. Connie made many pies, but her favorite secret was her homemade "pumpkin" pie, which was actually made with the sweeter butternut squash that she grew in her garden. She would let the secret out to her guests with a sly grin and a smile!

Jesse and Connie were united in marriage on June 1, 1963, in Pasadena, California. To this union were born two sons, Alan Wayne Land and Joseph Michael Land. During this time, she gained employment as a payroll/accounting clerk at the central offices of the Pacific Bell Telephone Company for 17 years, which later became AT&T.

The family relocated to Jesse's hometown of Keokuk, Iowa in 1977, then in 1978 purchased the family's pride and joy, a beautiful farm north of Revere, Missouri along the Des Moines River. She joyfully resided on the Land Farm the rest of her days.

Connie quickly converted from a city girl to a country girl seemingly overnight. Connie loved every animal in sight and tended to cattle, pigs, goats, chickens, turkeys, guineas, ducks, and literally every stray dog and cat that were dropped at the front of the property. She happily made a home for anything with legs! Just two years removed from the Los Angeles area, she was milking two cows a day by hand, birthing calves, goats, piglets, puppies, and kittens. One of her more notorious ventures was raising a runt piglet "Pinky" inside the home until it was ready to go outside, at which time was the size of a small dog and cuddled with her just like one.

Another love of Connie's was the massive gardens she and Jesse would grow along with the help of her children, many grandchildren, friends, and family. The Land garden was known for miles around and many families both helped in it and benefited from it. So many people have spoken over the years about the memories made in that garden. Connie cooked and canned until the wee hours of the morning, long after everyone else had retired for the day. She would also store the goods in her root cellar underneath the old farmhouse.

Genealogy was another love of Connie's. She spent countless hours and miles on the road researching not just her own family, but those of others out of pure love and compassion. She was tremendously proud of her research and connecting people with their pasts by helping create their family trees, often many generations back. One of her pet peeves was poorly written obituaries which create challenges for genealogists. It is for this reason that she wrote much of this one!

Connie's greatest wish in life was that everyone she came in contact with would eventually come to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Through all of life's struggles, Connie's faith in Christ never wavered and she imparted these values on to her family and anyone else who would hear. Her perseverance in her faith is a true testament of her love of Christ that gave her strength that she exhibited even in the final weeks leading up to her departure from this earth. Connie will be greatly missed by her family, friends, and pets. Connie wanted to recognize those that stepped up and helped her during her final difficult days: Alan & Jolene Land, Michael and Amy Land, her grandchildren, her sister Barbara and niece Gina, and finally her special neighbor and friend Carol White who opened her home to personally care for Connie prior to her illness. The outpouring of love and support for Connie has been overwhelming and so greatly appreciated by the Land family!

Connie is survived by her sons Alan (Jolene) Land and Michael (Amy) Land of Hannibal, MO. She is also survived by 9 grandchildren: Nathan (Elizabeth) Land, Jacob Land, Caleb (Amy) Land, Rebekah (Dustin) Williams, Sara (Daniel) Newberry, Allison (Michael) Poffenbarger, Michaela (Aaron) Boyer, Emily (Eli) Pluebell, and Hydee Boecker. Her Great-Grandchildren are Abigail, Eden, Anastasia, Sergius, Jesse, Juliet, Rosalie, Ezra, Maverick, Leila, Jacob, Ella, Canaan, Silas, Adah, Noah, Eleanor (due April 2026), Kody, and Aiden. Connie is also survived by her brother Ron (Emilie) Larson of Anaheim, California and sister Barbara (Larson) Wolfe of Kyle, Texas. Connie was predeceased by her parents Phillip and Catherine, her husband Jesse, his brother John, and her brother Daniel Larson. Connie was also predeceased by her special friends and brother & sister in Christ Leonard and Fern Huffman whom she enjoyed scrapping metal with and loved dearly.

Visitation will be at 10:30 AM on Thursday February 12, 2026, at the Bible Baptist Church in Kahoka, Missouri where Connie faithfully worshiped and proudly served meals with the Young At Heart team. Pastor Glen Yoder will officiate with services provided by the Bibb-Veach Funeral Home of Bowling Green, Missouri. Private interment will immediately follow at the Revere, Missouri cemetery next to her husband Jesse and his brother John V. Land. The men who will proudly carry Connie to her final resting place will Alan, Michael, Mark, Nathan, Jacob, and Caleb Land. Honorary pallbearers are Michael Taylor of Farmington, New Mexico and David Stewart of Luray, Missouri; grandchildren: Nathan (Elizabeth) Land, Jacob Land, Caleb (Amy) Land, Rebekah (Dustin) Williams, Sara (Daniel) Newberry, Allison (Michael) Poffenbarger, Michaela (Aaron) Boyer, Emily (Eli) Pluebell, and Hydee Boecker; and great-grandchildren: Abigail, Eden, Anastasia, Sergius, Jesse, Juliet, Rosalie, Ezra, Maverick, Leila, Jacob, Ella, Canaan, Silas, Adah, Noah, Eleanor (due April 2026), Kody, and Aiden.

Memorials may be made to the family in care of Bibb-Veach Funeral Homes and Crematory.