- Date Of Birth: October 29, 1929
- Date Of Death: October 29, 2022
- State: Minnesota
Jeanie Ulferts died peacefully on her 93rd birthday surrounded by family, she was born on October 29, 1929, in Jamestown, North Dakota. The daughter of Frank R. Buzzell and Helen Lybeck, Jeanie had a younger brother, Manny.
The family moved to Van Nuys, California after the attack on Pearl Harbor, where her father worked at Lockheed Martin as an electrician/pilot to help develop the P38 into a viable fighter plane. The experiences of the years spent in the heart of war production instilled in the family a commitment to God and nation, as well as an avid interest in technology and aviation.
Returning to North Dakota, Jeanie graduated from Jamestown High School and Jamestown College, now University of Jamestown, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts. She was invited to join a theatre-arts ensemble and began performing Shakespearean plays in cities and towns across North Dakota. A teaching career followed with a focus on English, Speech, and Theatre. She served as school librarian and drama and speech & debate coach for many school districts before continuing her education at the University of North Dakota obtaining an advanced Library Science degree. Jeanie enjoyed seeing others excel, particularly in the performing arts or in athletics, as she believed that everyone had the potential to shine.
As a first-year teacher, Jeanie met, and later married Wayne Ulferts, a fellow teacher and coach. They raised their children, Jay, Jan, Lori and David in a home filled with books, an emphasis on learning, humility and a commitment to community.
As the second act in her career, she followed Wayne’s small business dream and they acquired the Coast to Coast Hardware Store in Warren, MN in 1976. While books remained her passion, she seemed to have tireless energy for community and church. She was a businesswoman, a teacher, a coach, an inspiration, a friend, a daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, who always had a crossword puzzle close at hand, her knitting or hardanger nearby, and one who would always take a moment for a kind word.
Her selfless dedication to her family and friends, her tireless devotion to education, her strong faith, wisdom, courage and unfailing good humor will remain an inspiration to those who knew her.
Jeanie was preceded in death by her husband, Wayne, her parents and brother, Manny. Surviving Jeanie are son Jay (Warren, MN), daughters Jan (Fargo, ND), Lori (St. Cloud, MN) and son David (Omaha NE); sons-in-law Jim Stewart and Kyle Kedrowski, daughter-in-law Amy Jacobsen; grandchildren, Jessie Stewart (Laporte, CO), Sara Stewart & husband Eric Putz (Savage, MN), Jay Kedrowski (St. Cloud, MN), Jill Kedrowski (Monticello, MN), Anna Ulferts (Lincoln, NE), and Eben Kohtz (Salt Lake City, UT); three great-grandchildren Parker, Garrett and Paige Putz (Savage, MN).
