Janice Mae (Rasmussen) Clark died peacefully on September 7, 2026, in Spirit Lake, Iowa. She was 93 years old.
Janice was born on January 11, 1933, in Sioux City, Iowa, to Mamie and Clarence Rasmussen. The youngest of three children, she had a sister, Arlene (Rasmussen) Sullivan, and a brother, Raun “Bud” Rasmussen. The family lived on Shields Avenue, and her parents ran a series of neighborhood grocery stores. Janice had many fond memories of growing up around the stores and spoke especially fondly of her “Pop,” who took her to watch the elephants unload when the circus came to town.
Janice attended Longfellow Elementary, East Junior, and East High Schools in Sioux City, as did all five of her children. One week after graduating from high school, she started working at Swift Packing Plant. She also briefly attended Augustana College in Sioux Falls.
Janice met John Thomas “Tom” Clark when a suitor unwisely suggested that he and Janice take a drive past the “Murphy farm” in Sergeant Bluff. She met Tom that day, and three months later they were married at Morningside Lutheran Church on October 14, 1954.
They moved to California, but came home to Iowa after a year and started their family. Janice stayed home to raise their five children on the same street where she had grown up. She also taught art lessons and later worked as a secretary, finishing her formal work with 12 years at the Woodbury County Clerk’s office downtown. Her father had been elected Woodbury County Clerk in 1958 and died in office. After 60 years on Shields Avenue, Janice retired with Tom to Spirit Lake in 1998.
Janice was an active member of Morningside Lutheran Church. She enjoyed Bible studies, volunteered, and participated in events such as Cursillo. She also painted a floor-to-ceiling mural of the animals from Noah’s Ark that ran the length of a basement hallway at the church. After Sunday services, Morningside friends often gathered for big picnic lunches at the Ponderosa, the acreage Tom and Janice owned south of Sergeant Bluff on an oxbow lake near the Missouri River. Janice loved Jesus and His teachings and tried to share that love with others. After moving to Spirit Lake, she attended First Presbyterian Church and summer services at Epworth Hall.
Art was a big part of Janice’s life. She taught and took many art classes and was a talented painter. She and her daughter Cathy had a booth at the Iowa State Fair featuring farm scenes Janice painted on old barn doors. She painted wooden figures of Santa and Mrs. Claus, scenes on weathered cedar shingles, and Noah’s Ark wooden puzzles. Acrylics were her favorite for many years, and later she became an accomplished watercolor painter, painting scenes from her neighborhood and the beach at her beloved Monarch Cove.
Janice loved music, too. She played piano and autoharp and was often humming or singing a tune, a habit her children inherited. She loved the library and was an avid reader. She and Tom always had piles of books next to their bed.
More than anything, Janice loved her children. She raised them selflessly and with great dedication—no sooner was one out of the house than another was born, extending her mothering duties another generation. She attended dozens, if not hundreds, of her kids’ performances and softball, baseball, and basketball games, sometimes even cheering for the other team when the score got too lopsided.
Janice traveled across the country and around the world, including trips to Chile, Peru, Spain, Canada, Norway, and Denmark. She loved having everyone home for the holidays, often with an extra college friend or two who couldn’t make it home to their own families. She was generous and kind and always paid attention to how other people were feeling.
Janice is survived by her children: Cathy Kelly of Spirit Lake; Linda Clark of Lawrence, Kansas; Diane (Dan) Tjaden of Sioux City; Karen Clark of Spirit Lake; and Jonathan (Katherine) Clark of Sacramento, California; and six grandchildren: Jack Kelly, Kaitlyn (Dany) Licona, Ben Kelly, Camren Tjaden, Theron Clark, and Genevieve Clark.
She was preceded in death by her husband, John Thomas Clark; her parents, Mamie and Clarence Rasmussen; her sister, Arlene Sullivan; her brother, Raun Rasmussen; and her son-in-law, Patrick Kelly.
A celebration of Janice’s life will be held at Epworth Hall in Monarch Cove, Spirit Lake, Iowa, on Saturday, September 19, at 11:00 a.m. An informal luncheon will follow.
A special thank you to the staff at Accura HealthCare of Spirit Lake and St. Croix Hospice for taking such good care of Janice.
Arrangements are under the care of Turner Jenness Funeral Home.
