Florence Jane Ward Bohner, 94, longtime Perry resident, died Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023, at the Spurgeon Manor in Dallas Center. She was born Jan. 3, 1929, to Ora F. Ward, Sr. and Florence Bomberger Ward, their 10th and youngest child.
Before her passing in 1929, Florence Ward asked that her sister, Hazel Bomberger Zuck, raise her infant daughter. Hazel loved and cared for Jane as her daughter.
Dallas Center was Jane’s hometown. She graduated from high school there and was a member of National Honor Society and joined in school activities, especially music. She was proud of her Division I clarinet solo at state music contest.
On Oct. 26, 1951, Jane married Robert E. Bohner, whom she truly met “across a crowded room” at the old Riviera Ballroom in Des Moines. Bob and Jane moved several times in their early married life, finally settling in Perry in 1956.
Jane’s successful career was as the go-to insurance person in the personnel department at the John Deere Des Moines works. She retired from Deere in 1984 after 30 years of service.
A lifelong member of the Presbyterian Church, Jane was baptized at the Dallas Center First Presbyterian Church. She and Bob were married at the Central Presbyterian Church in Des Moines. Over the years, Jane faithfully served in roles as elder, deacon, trustee and choir member at the Perry First Presbyterian Church.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 54 years, Robert E. Bohner; her mother, Hazel B. Zuck; her parents, Ora and Florence Ward; and nine siblings; as well as her half-brother and two step-brothers.
Survivors include her sister, Sharon (John) Dixon of Urbandale; and many nieces and nephews.
A graveside service will be in the Violet Hill Cemetery in Perry, Iowa, on Friday, Oct. 13 at 1 p.m. A funeral service will follow at 2 p.m. at the Carris Family Funeral Home and Cremation Care in Perry. Memorials may be directed to the First Presbyterian Church or St. Croix Hospice and may be left at the funeral home. Online condolences may be left at www.carrisfuneralhome.com.
