Janet Klotz

Janet (Cone) Klotz, a loving sister, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and aunt passed away at the age of 93 on Wednesday, March 8, 2023.  Janet was born on April 13, 1929 to Homer and Ella (Roos) Cone in Sycamore, Illinois.  She and her sister Lorraine (Cederberg) Cone spent their childhoods in Sycamore.  Janet's mother, Ella, died when she was quite young and her father remarried providing Janet and Lorraine a much-loved step-mother, Dorothy, and step-brother William Westerbeck.

Janet graduated from Sycamore high school and upon marrying Russell Klotz moved to Sandwich, Illinois where she worked at CTS Knights Co. before becoming the bookkeeper at Klotz Garage (Cities Service) on Church Street.  There she delighted in popping her head out of the office door to chat with friends and neighbors.  Sandwich quickly became her home and she developed life-long friendships with Jean and Ida Hanson and Wilbur and Loretta Martin and far too many others to list.  Frequent family gatherings were one of her great joys, and getting together with her folks and Bill and Margaret Westerbeck and her beloved niece Kathy (Westerbeck) Evans, fueled her life. In short, Janet loved people. And she would delight in striking up conversations with strangers--sometimes to the consternation of her family who were trying to get her to board a plane or train--and would soon find connections between their lives and hers.  She will be fondly remembered by many whose lives she touched.  

Janet was a very active member of the Salem Lutheran Church and loved her church family dearly.  She taught Sunday School and ran the church nursery for so many years that she had the great pleasure of caring for the children of some of her former students.  Janet was also an active member of Ruth Unit and Circle, and enjoyed helping to prepare and serve the annual Scandinavian dinner.  She and her husband, Russell, provided rides to church for the elderly and disabled, and many people over the years were happy to see her kind smile when she delivered "Meals on Wheels".

Janet made many trips to California to visit her sister, Lorraine, her dear niece Pam and brother-in-law Ed Cederberg, who would drive them far and wide to see the many sights southern California had to offer.  But most years, Janet and Russ would spend the summer months with their son Lee and his wife Susanne (Medford) Klotz and their family at Whip-poor-will Camp in northern Wisconsin .  At camp, Janet delighted in feeding the hungry fishermen and doting on her beloved grandsons Seth and Jared Klotz. She was a loving mother to her only child, Lee, whom she cared for with a deep and life-long devotion.  Late in life Janet took special joy in the arrival of two delightful great-grandchildren, Archer and Annie Klotz.

Perhaps the greatest measure of a successful life is not in ones historic achievements, but in ones quiet selfless service to others, and that is the kind of life that Janet lived. She will be dearly missed.

Janet was preceded in death by her mother Ella (Roos) Cone, father Homer Cone, sister Lorraine (Cone) Cederberg and husband Russell Klotz. 

She is survived by her son Lee, daughter-in-law Susanne (Medford) Klotz, niece Pamela (Cederberg) Lindsey, niece Kathy (Westerbeck) Evans, grandsons Seth and Jared Klotz, granddaughter-in-law Maggie (Hauser) Klotz and great-grandchildren, Archer and Annie Klotz.

A Memorial Service will be held on Monday, June 12, 2023 at 11:00 A.M. at Salem Lutheran Church, 1022 N. Main St. Sandwich, IL 60548. A light luncheon will follow. Janet was interred with her husband Russell at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Sandwich. Memorials may be made to Salem Lutheran Church of Sandwich and Divine Hospice of Yorkville. Funeral arrangements were entrusted to Beverage Family Funeral Home. Online condolences may be made at www.beveragefamilyfh.com