Janet F. Smith

Janet F. (Westerhold) Smith, 82, of Lincoln, NE, passed away on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, at Yankee Hill Village in Lincoln, NE.  A celebration of Janet's life will be held on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. at the Munderloh-Smith Funeral Home in Bancroft, NE.  Burial will be in the Bancroft Cemetery.  Arrangements are under the direction of Munderloh -Smith Funeral Home of Bancroft.

Janet was born Nov. 15, 1942, to Martin and Emma (Windels) Westerhold, the oldest daughter among six children. She grew up on the family farm south of Pender, just across the Cuming County line. She spent her childhood riding her favorite horse, Nellie, being the only student in her class at District 57 School, playing in the orchards around the farm, and caring for her siblings.

She graduated from Pender High School in 1960, where she was a majorette, a cheerleader, an award-winning Future Homemaker of America, and the Pendragons’ representative at Girls State in 1959. After graduation, she enrolled in nursing school at Immanuel Hospital in Omaha. Around that time, while working part-time at the Kozy Korner in Pender, she met Rod Smith of Rosalie; they exchanged wedding vows in Luverne, Minnesota, in July 1962. Rod and Janet eventually made their home in Rosalie and raised three children: Kimberly, Jana, and Steven.

Like many small-town women of her era, Janet was industrious and wore many hats. For years, she balanced building her career, caring for her family, and working to improve her community. In the late 1970s and early ’80s, she managed Smith’s Café three miles east of Rosalie – right next door to Rod, who ran Smith’s Standard Service, and it quickly became known as “Smitty’s City.” In 1981, she was promoted from part-time clerk at the Rosalie Post Office to postmaster in nearby Bancroft, beginning a nearly 25-year career as a postmaster. She was the first woman elected to the Rosalie School Board and was president during the 1982 consolidation that formed Bancroft-Rosalie Community Schools.

Janet was an ardent gardener, and nothing made her happier than when her front yard peonies opened each spring. Her baking – especially her rye bread, oatmeal cake with coconut pecan frosting, Christmas goodies, and cakes and pies – was always in high demand. She read avidly, believed learning was a lifelong affair, and emphasized this repeatedly to her children. She also loved exploring new places and enjoyed a range of vacation experiences, from the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl to California to the French Riviera. Her final out-of-state trip, in 2023, was to the Arizona desert, where she always wanted to live, for her granddaughter’s wedding.

Music was central to Janet’s life, and she claimed to have been “born singing.” She coordinated music for Immanuel Lutheran Church of Rosalie for years with her friends Nancy Akins, Dorothy Dorau, and Ann Steinmeyer. In her spare time, she performed in a local country band, and the most joyful part of any family gathering was when “Aunt Janet” opened her guitar case.

As a postmaster, Janet served the communities of Bancroft, Henderson, Valley, Benedict, and, at the close of her career, Henderson once more. She retired in 2004; a year later, she and Rod moved back to Bancroft. Janet was regularly recognized for her leadership and attention to detail; this often led to roles with community betterment committees, local senior centers, community theater, and civic initiatives, such as helping plan and build a living history farm north of Henderson. She believed in the enduring promise of America and wore red, white, and blue most days, earning the loving nickname “Captain America” from her children.

In 2012, following her and Rod’s 50th anniversary, they moved to Omaha. In 2016, a few years after Janet began noticing concerns with her vision, she learned that she had Benson’s Syndrome, a rare degenerative brain condition. Over the next eight-plus years, the progressive Alzheimer’s-like disease stole her sight, destroyed her dexterity, and eradicated chunks of her memory. Still, her disease never got the best of her – she knew, recognized, understood, and remembered everyone in her life, kept up on the news, and voted in every election until her death.

Less than a month after joining Lincoln's Yankee Hill Village retirement community in August 2021, Janet endured the deaths of both Rod and their daughter, Jana. Nevertheless, she quickly became an active member at her new home, organizing gospel sing-alongs, attending Bible study, teaching tai chi, singing in the choir, and serving on in-house committees. At Yankee Hill Village, she met Rod Little, a widower, and the two became inseparable. Rod, a former teacher four years her senior, doted on Janet and stayed by her side until the very end.

She is survived by her daughter Kimberly (Jeff) Castle of Marietta, Georgia; her son Steven (Kathleen) Smith of Lincoln; son-in-law Kevin Furlong of Omaha; brothers Bill (Shirley) Westerhold of Omaha and Mark (Judi) Westerhold of The Villages, Florida; sister Gail Brondum of Omaha; sister-in-law Peggy Smith of Rosalie; six grandchildren, Jenna, Jayne, Katelyn, Judson, Joshua and Ryan; four great-grandchildren; many nieces and nephews; and special friend Rod Little of Lincoln.

Janet was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Rod; daughter Jana; brother Dale Westerhold; sister Carol Larsen; brother-in-law Dennis Smith; brother-in-law Merlin Brondum; brother- and sister-in-law Myron and Karen Paulsen; and nephews David Paulsen and Kyle Westerhold.

Memorials may be offered to the Bancroft-Rosalie Community Schools Foundation or to the Immanuel Community Foundation (Yankee Hill Village, 8401 S. 33rd St., Lincoln, NE 68516, Attention: Sandi).