Janet Diane (Weitzel) Zuber, 28 Dec 1945 - 28 Jan 2025

ZUBER, WEITZEL, LENT, HARSHMAN, SCHWARZ

Posted By: Sarah Witte (email)
Date: 2/5/2025 at 13:33:18

Janet Diane Zuber passed away on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, in St. Luke’s Hospice after battling multiple health issues. A visitation will be held from 4-7pm on Friday, January 31, 2025, at Cedar Memorial Chapel Stateroom in Cedar Rapids. A second visitation will be held from 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 1, 2025, at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Cedar Rapids, and will be followed by a funeral service at 2:00 p.m. The burial will take place at Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery.

Janet was born on December 28, 1945, to Robert and JoAnn Weitzel in Cleveland, Ohio. She graduated from Avon Lake High School in 1963. The next day, she moved with her family to Cedar Rapids. In 1966 Janet married Tom Zuber, from South Amana, in Resurrection Church, Marion. They had three daughters and were married for 58 years.

Janet attended the St. Luke’s School of Practical Nursing, where she graduated in 1965 as an LPN. She worked for St. Luke’s Hospital for 43 years. Initially, she worked on the medical floor which became the first telemetry unit, and after 6 years she moved to the Birth Care Center in mother baby care post-partum. At age 43, while working full-time and having two daughters still at home, she went to Kirkwood Community College to obtain her RN degree. She was then able to work in labor and delivery, where she helped deliver more than 3,000 babies.

Janet enjoyed giving back to the community. She was Lovey Bear and taught Mommy and Me classes at St. Luke’s, volunteered at the Humane Society, served as a room parent, and was a Girl Scout leader. She also had a passion for assisting at her church, Our Savior’s Lutheran, where she was a Sunday School teacher for many years. She started the tradition of children’s sermons, which she gave for more than 20 years. Many congregants will remember Ralph, the puppet dog, who was her consistent companion in delivering many of the sermons. She also formed the Celebration Singers Quartet which performed at church services and was very active in the Fellowship Committee. After retirement, Janet went back to St. Luke’s as a volunteer and was active in the auxiliary.

Some of Janet’s favorite things to do were listening to Neil Diamond, The Beach Boys, and Barry Manilow while dancing in the living room, making flower arrangements, tent camping in the Tetons and Black Hills when their kids were young, going on cruises with Tom, baking with and reading to her grandchildren, watching movies (especially Hallmark Christmas movies), and reading Guidepost magazines. She was also an avid gardener, tending to her wildflower gardens, and had an especially green thumb when it came to African violets.

Janet is preceded in death by her parents and is survived by husband Thomas Zuber of Cedar Rapids, IA; sister Barbara (Gene) Lent of Columbus, OH; brother Robert (Peggy) Weitzel of Columbus, OH; daughters Rebecca Zuber of West New York, NJ, Heather (Dale) Harshman of Sherwood, OR, and Holly (Matt) Schwarz of Cedar Rapids, IA; and grandchildren Christian and Isabella Harshman, and Noah and Megan Schwarz.

After suffering from glaucoma for most of her life, Janet’s eyes were donated to the Iowa Eye Bank for glaucoma research.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the St. Luke’s Birth Care Center, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, or the Cedar Rapids Humane Society in Janet’s name.

Published in The Gazette on January 30, 2025.