Dr. Janet (Jan) Louise (Hart) Heinicke of Indianola, Iowa, passed away Sunday, January 12, 2025 at Edencrest at Green Meadows in Johnston, Iowa. Her late husband Dr. (Herbert) Raymond (Ray) Heinicke predeceased her.  Jan was born in Richmond, Indiana and child of Homer Stroud Hart and Mary DeMaris (Way) Hart.  She graduated from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, and was an art educator in Indiana and Ohio before completing a master's degree in art education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Later, she earned a M.F.A in painting and doctoral degree in curriculum at Northern Illinois University, in DeKalb, Illinois.  From 1982 to 2001, Jan worked as Chair of the Fine Arts Division at Simpson College, Indianola, Iowa.  Though officially retired as Professor in 2001 when she became a professor emeritus, Jan taught as an adjunct faculty at Simpson until spring 2004.  She also taught at the Des Moines Art Center and offered lessons in her home.

Jan and Ray married in June, 1955, and raised their family in Elgin and Bourbonnais, Illinois and Indianola, Iowa. Survivors include her son Peter (Karen) of Elburn, Illinois, her son John (Stacey) of Johnston, Iowa, her daughter Mary of Dewes, Delaware, her son Mark (Elizabeth) of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and her daughter Sarah of Portland, Oregon, five grandchildren Adam Cline, Hannah (Scott) Martens, Ella (Spencer) Bauer, Jeremiah (Gloria) Heinicke and Abigail Heinicke, three great grandchildren Olivia Houseman, Lewis Martens and Logan Martens and one great, great grandchild, Archer Supino.

Jan was a frequent exhibitor and had more than 70 one-person shows to her credit. Since the early 90's, she had been engaged in international study, travel and various cultural exchanges and projects. A 1994 trip to Iowa's partner state of Stavropol, Russia, was a "life changing" experience in which she was struck by the frequent comment of those she met that "we are more alike than different." Since then, she has traveled to Russia for six visits, to Malaysia six different times, to China, Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, and most recently several times to Tanzania, where she visited and worked at Mwangaza, a teachers' resource center for elementary and secondary teachers.

To stay connected to her peers, Jan joined a number of prominent professional organizations, including the Chicago Artist Coalition and the Art Education Association. She also volunteered her services as the superintendent of the Fine Arts Iowa State Fair, the chairman of the building and planning committee at the Redeemer Lutheran Church in Indianola, Iowa, and a member of the community development advisory panel for the Iowa Arts Council.  She was also a member of the Indianola Rotary Club and a Paul Harris fellow.

Jan's hard work and dedication did not go unnoticed. She was proud to receive the Faculty Research Award from Simpson College in 1994, an Alumni Citation from Wittenberg University in 2002 and the Robert Ray Outstanding Volunteer Award from the Iowa Sister States in 2007, among other accolades. Further, she was honored with inclusion in three editions of Who's Who in America, three editions of Who's Who of American Women and one edition each of Who's Who in American Education, Who's Who in the Midwest and Who's Who in the World. As a testament to her success, she was invited to be a guest lecturer at institutions like the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Southwest Community College in Iowa, and a guest artist at institutions like the Iowa Amateur Artists Association and Terrengannu in Malaysia. She also served in notable positions like visiting scholar at Fukuoka Jo Gakuin College in Japan, a consultant at the Pedagogical Institute in Latvia, judge for the Iowa Amateur Artists Association and chairman of the Iowa Sister States-Stavropol Commission.

The visitation and funeral services will be held at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Indianola on Saturday, January 25, 2025 with visitation from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM and services from 11 AM to12 PM.  The burial will be held at Earlham Cemetery at 1101 W. National Rd., Richmond, Indiana on Monday, January 27, 2025 at 1:30 PM.