Janice "Jan" Barnett

Janice “Jan” Barnett, age 66, of Yankton, South Dakota, died Wednesday, July 28, 2021, at her home surrounded by her family. A memorial service will be 2:00 PM on Tuesday, August 3, 2021, at the Wintz & Ray Funeral Home in Yankton, South Dakota with Reverend Katie Ricke officiating.  The family will receive friends from 5:00 to 7:00 PM on Monday, August 2, 2021 at the Wintz & Ray Funeral Home in Yankton. Janice “Jan” Barnett was born September 8, 1954, in Armour, South Dakota, to John and Lillian (Dolejsi) Kortan.  She grew up in Geddes, South Dakota and graduated from Geddes High School in 1972.  She married Guy Barnett on February 8, 1974, in the Bridal Cave in Camdenton, Missouri.  They lived in Lake Ozark, Missouri, where Jan worked as a nurse’s aide for Miller County Nursing Home in Tuscumbia, Missouri and later at Camdenton Nursing Home.  Jan and Guy then moved back to Geddes, South Dakota in 1977 to help her family on the farm.  Jan raised her family in Geddes and later began working at Lake Andes Health Care Center.  She attended Dakota Wesleyan and graduated with an RN degree in 1991.  They then moved to Yankton where Jan worked as a registered nurse for Sacred Heart Hospital until she was diagnosed with cancer and her health forced her to retire in 2016.  After beating cancer, she began working as a traveling nurse for Heart Print Home Care and most recently at St. Joseph Care Center in the Sacred Heart Monastery in Yankton.  She was only able to work for a short time until her cancer came back, which she fought hard for the last few years. Jan was a strong, kind hearted and patient woman who always kept herself busy.  She enjoyed fishing with her family, big group hunts, gambling, gardening and tending to her flowers.  She was an avid reader and loved baking and cooking for her family and organizing family get togethers.  Within her nursing career she met many families and made many friends, most of whom are the nursing staff from Avera Sacred Heart Hospital.  She loved her family above everything else and will be greatly missed. Survivors include her husband, Guy Barnett of Yankton, South Dakota; four daughters: Nancy (Steven) Grimme; Sherri (Donavan) Hamilton; Kristine Barnett and Holly Barnett all of Yankton; eight grandchildren: Josh, Preston, Lincoln, Levi, Tamiah, Taryn, Lance and Grant; four great grandchildren: Dallas, Alice, Louis and Jameson; brother, David (Jan) Kortan of Shoreview, Minnesota and her best friend who was like a sister, Cheryl Slowey of Yankton. She was preceded in death by her parents and father and mother-in-law.  

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