Janet Prokosch
Janet Prokosch, age 80, of Bird Island, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Sunday, November 10, 2024 at the Olivia Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Olivia. Mass of Christian Burial will be Friday, November 15, 2024 at 1:15 p.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Bird Island with Rev. George Schmit as celebrant. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Visitation will be from 11:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. all prior to the service at the church. Lunch will be served to friends and family in the church following the interment. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to St. Mary’s School or Renville County Hospice. Arrangements are by Dirks-Blem Funeral Service, Olivia, MN.
Janet Violet Prokosch was born on July 11, 1944, in Hutchinson, Minnesota to Fred and Violet (Thurston) Zrust. She was baptized and confirmed her faith at Peace Lutheran Church in Cosmos, MN. She was a 1962 graduate of Cosmos High School. Janet worked in the aerospace division at Honeywell in Minneapolis after attending Mankato State University.
Janet married Stan Prokosch from Bird Island, MN on the 20th of August 1966 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Bird Island. They were blessed with 58 years of marriage and four boys: Dale, David, Paul and John.
As a gifted pianist, Janet taught private lessons and played piano and organ at St. Mary’s Church and School in Bird Island for church mass, weddings, funerals, and both the church and school choirs. She would practice her music for hours to achieve perfection. Janet was also a member of Club 88, a group of local piano teachers. She enjoyed spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren, at their cabin on Kandiyohi Lake, and looked forward to playing cards with her friends from various card clubs. She loved to travel to the West Coast to visit her family and spend time in the mountains and by the ocean.
Janet is survived by her loving husband, Stan, and their sons and grandchildren: Dale and Tracey: Broderick, Keely, and London; David and Sheri: Morgan; Paul; John and Honey; her sister: Betty and Bob Bryce and her brother and sisters-In-law: Mollie Zrust, Bernice Flood, Sister Cecilia Prokosch, and Vern (Helen) Prokosch, as well as many nieces and nephews. Janet was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Donnie and Daryle Zrust; brother and sisters-in-law, Darlene Zrust, Helen and her husband Pete Lingl, and Daryl Flood.
The family would like to give a very special thank you to Stan for his devotion in caring for Janet for the past several years. They would also like to thank: Olivia Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, Renville County Hospice, Olivia Hospital and Clinics and many others for the end of life care that Janet received.
Blessed Be Her Memory