Jane Nystrom, age 100, went home to be with the Lord on Thursday, August 26, 2021.
Jane was born in Galesburg, IL on April 10, 1921, to Carl and Esther Nystrom in the house on North Street where she lived until she was 86. She attended Galesburg High School and Brown’s Business College.
Jane’s greatest joy was teaching Sunday school for children at Bethel Baptist Church alongside her sister Margaret Nystrom for over 50 years. Jane was a lifetime member of Bethel and its predecessor church, The Swedish Baptist Church, where all services were in the Swedish language when Jane was a child. She learned to drive in her 60’s, stating that until then she “didn’t need to bother with that.” Jane also played accordion and enjoyed making intricate handmade Christmas ornaments every year for friends and family, a tradition that started back in Sunday School. For decades she and Margaret hosted their family on Sundays for dinners with traditional Swedish foods and American dishes. They would periodically refresh their Swedish cooking skills with trips back to their parent’s homeland. Jane also competed ruthlessly at Skip-Bo and Uno.
She spent her career in the Galesburg area. After graduating from Brown’s Business College, Jane worked there for several years before moving to The Bank of Galesburg in 1944. In 1950, Jane moved to Interstate Telephone Company where she spent the majority of her working life. She remembered vividly the first time a computer arrived at the facility, and she worked there through its acquisition by the “baby bell” Centel. Jane was a consistent supervisor and mentor at the downtown Galesburg location. She famously once kept a team working throughout the night to find a missing penny in the reconciliation of the nightly receipts.
Jane was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers Arnold and Richard Nystrom, her sister Margaret Nystrom, and by her nephew Roger Nystrom. She is survived by her sister-in-law Nancy Nystrom, her nephews Tom Nystrom (Jeanette Nystrom), Ted Nystrom (Jeannie Nystrom) and Jonathan Nystrom (Tricia Haneghan), and by her beloved great-nieces and great-nephews.
A graveside service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday, September 2, 2021 at Memorial Park Cemetery; it will be livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/Hinchliff-Pearson-West-Funeral-Directors-and-Cremation-Services-160333664037824. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Bethel Baptist Church Children’s Sunday School program. Hinchliff-Pearson-West Funeral Directors and Cremation Services Galesburg Chapel is honored to serve the family. Online condolences may be made at www.h-p-w.com.
