Jan Sailer

Jan Sailer, age 87, of Hettinger, North Dakota, passed away on Wednesday morning, October 22, 2025 at the Five Counties Nursing Home in Lemmon, South Dakota.

Memorial service was at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 1, 2025 at the Hettinger Lutheran Church in Hettinger, ND.  Barb West and Karen Nelson  officiated.

Janis Arten was born in Bismarck, North Dakota on September 2, 1938 to William and Lillian Arten. Jan had three siblings, Duane, Richard and Diana.  She graduated as valedictorian from Bismarck High School in 1956.  She attended the University of North Dakota where she was a member of the Delta Gamma Sorority and Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society.  She graduated Summa Cum Laude (highest honors) in 1960.

She and Gerald Sailer were married on August 2, 1960 at the First Lutheran Church in Bismarck.  They moved to Houston, TX where Gerald was a student at Baylor Medical School.  Jan worked in the library and M.D. Anderson Cancer Research Center in Houston.  In 1965 they moved to Hettinger, ND.  Jan and Gerry were blessed with two wonderful children, Jill and Ted.  Jan established a medical library and the West River Regional Medical Center.  Jan was a very active volunteer at the Hettinger Lutheran Church, within the community and the hospital.  She loved gardening, birding, swimming, singing and classical music.  Jan loved her family and friends, the beauty of nature and God.  She lived her faith throughout her life.

She is survived by her husband, Gerald, daughter, Jill, son Ted (Michelle) all of Hettinger, ND, sister-in-law Bev, Minnesota and brother-in-law, Jerry Schimmelpfenning, Fargo, ND.  She was preceded in death by her parents and her siblings, Duane, Dick and Diana.

Condolences to the Sailer family can be sent through our website at www.evansonjensenfuneralhome.com