After a short, but mighty fight with cancer, Jan Halvorson, 70 of Turtle Lake passed away at Sanford Hospital on February 4, 2025, surrounded by her family.  Funeral services will be held at 10:30am on Saturday, February 8 at Turtle Lake Baptist Church, Turtle Lake with Pastor Steve Vetter officiating. Visitation will be held Friday, February 7, from 6:00-7:00pm with a prayer service at 7:00pm at the church. Burial will be in the St. Olaf Cemetery.

Janet Jean Halvorson was born prematurely on June 15, 1954, in McLaughlin, S.D. she was raised on a dairy farm south of Raleigh, N.D. (this is where her dislike for milk came from!) and was the oldest of four. After graduation, she attended Dickinson State College and received her degree as a Licensed Practical Nurse working her first nursing job in Fort Yates North Dakota, which was a job she said she loved. It was working in Fort Yates where she also met her first husband Don Wagner. They were married in August 1975, and had three children together, Carrie, Bob and Cassie. Jan also started working at the Turtle Lake Memorial Hospital in 1976 and spent a majority of her nursing career there. In September of 1993, she became a widow when Don passed away from a heart attack. She found love again in 2002 when she married Harley Halvorson. They spent 21 years together on the farm until his passing due to complications from cancer.

If you were fortunate to know Jan, you were fortunate enough to try her goodies. She loved to bake, cook and try out new recipes and take them to the hospital for her co-workers to enjoy, and try them out on her family. Nobody ever came to Jan's house and left hungry. That would be a sin! You could always count on her freezer having bars, cookies or baked goods in it, and you never left her house without a Tupperware container of food to enjoy back at your own house.

Jan had a love of crocheting, sewing and quilting. She enjoyed making baby quilts and giving them to a family for their new, little addition. She was always kind and giving in her nature. She also loved spending time with her grandchildren, and each one held a special place in her heart. Spending time at Granny Janny's was something each one of them looked forward to and is something that will be missed by them all.

Jan is survived by her daughter Carrie (James) Mandigo, son Bob (Mandi) Wagner, daughter Cassie (Ben) Podoll, grandchildren, Ty, Mallory, McKenna, Clay and Jayden, two great-grandchildren, Alodie and Aria, sister, Janice (John) Tishmack, brother, Frank (Sandie) Dillman, sister, Julie (Bill) Mulvaney, many nieces and nephews, two aunts, cousins and many special, dear friends she made throughout her lifetime in the communities in which she lived and served.

She was preceded in death by her husband Harley Halvorson, parents Helen and Frank Dillman, and first husband Don Wagner.

"Faith is finding a rainbow in every tear."