Janet Witte Shea Holst passed away peacefully Thursday, March 29, 2012, at her farm home in Collinsville, Ill.



Mrs. Holst was a life long resident of Collinsville and member of Holy Cross Lutheran Church where she participated in many organizations. She was also active in the Madison County Farm Bureau and 4-H organizations. Janet attended Blackburn College and Southern Illinois University Carbondale where she received a teaching degree and taught in the Collinsville elementary schools for many years. She also worked as the director of The Priscilla Child Day Care Center in Collinsville.



She took great care in bringing her family together for special occasions and contributing many of her homemade specialties. She was an avid cook and enjoyed sharing her talents for both family and friends. She also enjoyed the great outdoors of her farm and found much joy and satisfaction in her expansive yard, flower and bird feeders, and gardens. She found great comfort in living in her family home and on the land where her parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents farmed since 1850.



She was preceded in death by her beloved parents, Benjamin H. and Gertrude Witte; her first husband, William J. Shea, who was killed in action in World War II, their infant son, Stephen Shea; her second husband of 45 years of marriage, John C. Holst; and her brother, Benjamin Witte.



Surviving are her four children, Patricia Shea Peverly (David) of Troy, Ill., Christine Shea Marshall (John) of Clayton, Mo., Jan Holst Tervydis of Edwardsville, Ill., and John Holst Jr. of Chesterfield, Mo.; eight grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; special nieces, including Ellen Witte and Kathy (Shea) Faust; and nephew, Benjamin Witte Jr.



Memorial donations may be made to Holy Cross Lutheran Church or Billhartz Animal Shelter.



Visitation: Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday, April 2, 2012, at Herr Funeral Home in Collinsville, Ill.



Funeral: A service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 3, 2012, at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Collinsville, Ill.