Jann M. DeLong

A Memorial Service for Jann will be Friday, March 21, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. at the Holthus Event Center in York, Nebraska. (Ballroom A - please enter from the south doors and part in the south parking lot) Pastor Lance Riley will preside over the Memorial Service. A time of food and fellowship will be held immediately following the Memorial Service in Ballroom A. Memorials in lieu of flowers are directed to the Sutton Christian School. If you are hearing this, I am already face to face with the lover of my soul. Not sure if it’s theologically correct, but I’m hopeful that I am hanging out with my dad Vic who went to see Jesus in 2001. I was born July 30, 1960 in Grand Island, Nebraska. Rumor has it that I was a couple weeks late & weighed in at close to 10 pounds. I was welcomed home by my brother Ed who was 4 years older than me. A short 16 months later my sister Sherri arrived. When Sherri came home from the hospital after being sick, I didn’t understand and was mad at my mom for leaving, causing me to become fiercely independent & stubborn for the rest of my days. (I know that is super hard to believe…) middle child syndrome entered into that as well. My daddy was my hero & I loved him like no other until I met Scott. I loved watching & attending sporting events with him. Sister Sherri was a built-in playmate and I probably didn’t appreciate her as much as I should have till we got older and became moms. I always felt it was my job to protect her as justice is a characteristic that I take pretty seriously. My first best friend was my cousin Lorri Baasch, who I got in trouble with for holding hands across the aisle in 1st grade. We moved to Colorado when I was a first grader and the highlight of all vacations were our family trips back to Nebraska, staying with my cousins (the Baasch’s Lorri,John and Mariann as well as my aunt & uncle Johnny & Roccene) Grandma and Grandpa Wassermann also lived there & our trips included lots of good food, watching slide shows, grandma making us girls crowns out of wrapping paper, glitter tin foil & honestly having a lot of good ole unsupervised play time. I always felt unconditionally loved by them, and they delighted in all us grandkids. Always lots of tears when we had to head home. When back home in Colorado, we spent lots of time with Grandma & Grandpa Wegner, as well as our cousins Gary, Christine & Scott. Chris was 10 years older than I was and I thought she was the prettiest, most sophisticated teenager ever. Also, lots of parties & holidays spent at aunt Shirley & uncle Gordon’s house. Years went on in Colorado and I made some really good friends, school was ok for me, but I would say the social aspect was the highlight. In 1976, I was invited to a bible study & it was there that I made a decision to put Jesus first in my life. For those who know me well, you know I have stumbled & made a lot mis-steps along my way. It kind of amazes me how steadfast he has always been, even when I was stumbling. I graduated from Columbine High School in 1978. I feel like I always was able to find favor with people in my jobs and friendships along the way, and God knows they weren’t deserved. I met my lifelong bff Christine Obrist in 1985 while living in Lincoln. We have been best friends since, getting ourselves into many predicaments; some were funny, some that we have always been sure required a wild angel watching over us. I always wanted to be married but no one could live up to my dad, so I kissed a lot of frogs along the way before being introduced to Scott at almost 30 years old. Anyone who knows our story knows we had our first date on July 13, 1990, engaged by August 3, and married on December 29, 1990. Lots of worried faces were seen when they heard our timeline. I won’t say that life was always easy, but I never doubted that Scott was the one for me. If you’re wondering, we were set up by Scott’s cousins Dave & Mary Dohmen, who are still some of our closest friends to this day. The whole Schernikau family welcomed me with open arms and I felt part of the family instantly. Having another sister Michele was a treat and George & Carolyn accepted me as a daughter with no questions asked. When 1993 rolled around, I was pregnant & gave birth to our first son George Luke DeLong in York, Nebraska. He was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. In 1996, I quit my job to stay home with my Luke, as I was pregnant with our second child. We bought a house that Scott didn’t love, but he sacrificed for me, because I did, and we set about making a life in Geneva, Nebraska. Ethan Scott DeLong was born in July 1997. It didn’t take him long to figure out he was going to have to talk and be sassy at an early age since he knew he was not going to be as strong as Luke who was 4 years older. I set out the next four years being a stay at home mom. In 1998, the Scott family moved to Geneva two doors down from us. That move changed our lives forever, as Lori was a stay at home mom and we became fast friends, walking together in the mornings and talking on the phone numerous times a day. We are still best friends to this day. Austin was a year older than Luke & they spent their childhood & teenage years as best friends. Christa was a couple years older than Ethan & they played together a lot as well. Through the years, I collected many new friends that have enriched my life. The Sutton Christian school community, different church small groups, as well as my old high school friend Sheila Noyes who spent many hours in prayer for me. There are so many friends I’ve collected over the years, I can’t name you all. I hope you know how much you’ve meant to me…Rhonda, Lila, Sussy, Joni, Mary, Darcie, Rochelle, I hope know how much you touched my life even if your name isn’t specifically mentioned here. When the boys were both in school, I went back to accounting for my career. At Manning & Associates, I became friends with Sherri Pospisil and our close to 30 years of working together allowed us to finish each other’s sentences and know what the other was thinking before the words came out. I went to work at the Myers family farm in 2004. They became a second family with Kurt, Kent & Vaden feeling like uncle’s and Kevin, Jamey, Matt and Adam feeling like annoying little brothers who drove you nuts but you loved them because they’re family and would do anything for you. I always had a dream that both of my boys would go to college and be debt free when graduating. That was accomplished in 2020 when Ethan graduated from Grand Canyon University. A brand-new joy was added to my life when Luke chose Gabrielle Wieland to be his wife. I always wanted a daughter, and she quickly filled that roll. I loved her almost instantly; I believe in part because I had been praying for her since she was a little girl. She sees me in a way that feels much too generous, loves my son and she birthed my 2 amazing grandchildren. George Colt Ryan DeLong was born December 31, 2020, adding a touch of magic to a pretty crappy Covid year. He lights up any room he enters and makes me smile constantly. He can pretty much do no wrong in ‘Jammy’s’ eyes. On April 16 2023, our little perfect angel Daisy Marie was born, fulfilling this ‘Jammy’s’ desire for a little girl to shop for and have a relationship with. I’ve been praying for Ethan to find his person and low and behold in May of 2024, he started dating Abbigail Graville. They got engaged February 12, 2025 and will get married later this year. I felt an instant bond with Abby, once again I believe because I’d prayed for her since she was a little girl. Anyone who knows me knows that my family is my all and the fact that we are all close at a time when my life is nearly over means the world to me. I’ve had a pretty good run at life. I’m ever so grateful that God brought Scott, my rock & soulmate into my life. I’m so thankful for family & friends who have held me up in prayer when I couldn’t do it myself. I’m thankful to Jesus that he’s so faithful & his steadfast love never fails.

Tributes

Jann M. DeLong

July 30, 1960 - February 12, 2025