Janet Mae Boettcher, 88, Becker

June 13, 1935 - November 1, 2023

Mass of Christian Burial will be 11:00 AM Friday November 10, 2023, at Mary of the Visitation Catholic Church in Becker for Janet Mae Boettcher, 88 of Becker who died Wednesday, November 1, 2023, at Quiet Oaks Hospice in St. Augusta. The Reverend Michael Kellogg will officiate, and the burial will be at the Becker Catholic Cemetery. Visitation will be 1 hour prior to services on Friday at the church in Becker. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Benson Funeral Home in St. Cloud.

Janet Mae Boettcher was born in Becker, MN to Helen (Haberman) and Frank Kolbinger. She spent her early years on the family farm before it was destroyed by a fire, causing her family to move into the city of Becker. While in High School, she met the love of her life, Jim Boettcher. He won her love at their young age by frequenting the soda shop she worked at in Big Lake. They were joined in marriage on June 25, 1955, eventually having 3 children, Debbie, Jim, and Mike. Jim and Janet were married for 58 years before Jim’s passing in July 2013.

Janet initially was a stay-at-home Mom before starting to work part-time at the local grocery store. During her tenure, she was hired by the city of Becker to be the city clerk as a part-time role. As the city of Becker grew, the role expanded and allowed Janet to work for the city full-time for the next 25 years. After serving her community in this capacity, Janet retired from her full-time role, moving to part-time work in the local grocery deli and liquor store. She continued to work part-time until her husband Jim required daily care during his own battle with cancer, which she provided with love and grace.

Janet enjoyed serving her church and community. At church, she was a communion distributor and a devoted member of the Christian Mothers group. Janet also volunteered as the head of the local food shelf for over 30 years, serving thousands of families. It was a joy for her to do the daily shopping to keep the shelves full and finding the best deals to give those utilizing the food shelf fun treats and a variety of options. Volunteering there kept Janet on her feet and going until a few months ago when she became too weak from the effects of cancer to continue.

Janet’s favorite activities included playing cards, family cribbage tournaments on Christmas Eve, going to the casino, making sour kraut with her family, and watching the Timberwolves (she even learned how to use “The Google” to find out what time and channel their games were on). Though she would never have admitted it, she even seemed to enjoy the family camping trips Jim would take the family on when their kids were young. Janet’s final years were spent attending her grandchildren’s weddings, graduations, frequenting their places of work, meeting her great-grandchildren, and spoiling all of them at every opportunity.

Family was immensely important to her and was the beloved matriarch of her family. Janet was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Janet is survived by her daughter Debbie (Mark) Dittmar of Becker; son Jim (Peggy) of St Joseph; and Mike (Shelly) of Fargo, ND. Janet will be missed by her granddaughters Spring, Lydia, Miranda, Megan, and Emily; grandsons Tito, Dominic, James, Zachary, Chase, and Henry; and many great-grandchildren. Janet is also survived by her sisters Lucille and June; and sister-in-law Nadine.

Janet was preceded in death by her parents, husband Jim, sisters Marie, Lorraine and Helen; brothers Frank, Ernest and Mark; and great-grandchildren Edward and Mary.

The family would like to thank Quiet Oaks hospice for their compassionate care for Janet during her final days.