Janet (Thiesfeld) Herzog was born August 1, 1961, to Robert and Carol (Tourville) Thiesfeld. She passed away peacefully at home on May 1, 2024 after a courageous battle with cancer.  She fought this battle like everything else in life—with dignity, grit, stubbornness, and most of all, her contagious humor.

She wed her high school sweetheart, Scott Herzog, on June 1, 1979. To this union they were blessed with two wonderful and very much-loved sons, Brandon and Justin. As she always said they had “basketball” size heads but loved them despite this.

She is survived by her beloved husband, Scott, sons, Brandon, Nebraska City, and Justin, Chicago, IL: Granddaughter, Hailey Santana (Hez), Falls City; Great granddaughters Shane and Charlotte.  She is also survived by siblings, Bobbi Thiesfeld, Omaha, Gordon (Cheryl) Thiesfeld of Kansas City, MO, Kate (Jim) Jewell of Lincoln, David (Tracy) Thiesfeld of Thornfield, MO, Mary (Ross) Hickey of Nebraska City; brothers and sisters in-law, Bryan Lane (Joni) Herzog, Shell Knob, MO, Shelly (Mark) Grimm, Gretna, Tamrie Herzog, Nebraska City, Shawn Herzog, Lincoln, many adored nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins and many, many friends.  She was preceded in death by her parents and her extra-special parents in-law Jim and Sharon Herzog.

Consistent with her lifelong love of animals and soft heart, she’s also survived by her spoiled, adored, and overweight cats, Charley and Max.   As much as she reveled in shopping for her own goodies, she truly delighted in buying for others. Janet had a special knack for making others happy and loved seeing their smiles, even on their worst days. She lived by her motto that, “I may not be able to give everyone everything, but even if I have nothing, it costs nothing to be nice to people.”   Janet wasn’t just the life of the party; she WAS the party. She lived and loved her life fully,
always creating many fun memories all the while savoring every single moment during the ride.   She felt as if she won at life 100 times over! She carried on her kindness and humor until the very end.  She’ll be remembered as a kind, gracious, giving, compassionate, strong and caring soul with an unforgettable sense of humor and contagious laugh. She wanted everyone to know that “If I met you in the journey of life, may I have been kind.” May she shine in our memories as she did in our lives.

She began her career as an area representative at Midwest Childcare Association in 1985 at the age of 23 and continued working up to the time of her death. Always dedicated to her coworkers and providers, she succeeded her mentor as Executive Director. She very rarely missed a day of work while commuting to Omaha daily for almost 40 years for a job she genuinely loved. She respected and loved her coworkers and providers like family.   Her family would like to thank her various medical teams that worked tirelessly throughout her battle. Despite the ending, without all of you the memories created over the past year would not have been possible. We would especially like to thank the doctors and nurses at Bergen-Mercy, UNMC, St. Mary’s, and St. Croix. Extra special shout-outs to Dr. Blum, Dr. Tenner, Kim, and Tesha—to only name a few. Janet was humbled and grateful for all of the acts of kindness, words, cards, flowers, thoughts, prayers and time spent with her; she appreciated everything.

Services will be held at Gude Mortuary in Nebraska City on Saturday, May 4, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. with a Celebration of Life immediately following the service at Red Gala (formerly the Fox Center), 424 Central Ave, Nebraska City. Janet’s favorite color was pink and requested that those attending her service wear pink (or any other bright cheery color, especially if pink is not in their color palette).

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Janet’s name to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or the National Women’s Law Center. These organizations are consistent with Janet’s life-long dedication to bettering the lives of women and children.   Thanks to all for loving Janet as the beautiful shining person that she was here on earth, as she’ll carry on those same traits in heaven.