OPFEL, Janet A. (Jan)

South Bend (IN) Tribune Saturday, June 11, 2011 Jan 4, 1935-June 6, 2011 Mishawaka--Jan Opfel, Mishawaka's City Clerk from 1976-1991, died early Monday morning in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, the town she called home for the last ten years. Her death was caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which, although debilitating, could not stop her zest for living. She passed peacefully in the presence of her elder son. To say that she was a loving mother, sister, daughter and friend does not begin to capture the Jan we all knew and loved. She was born in Goshen, Indiana, to David R and Grace E (Hamilton) Huber. Her father David died in an auto accident just before Christmas 1944, a few weeks before Jan's 10th birthday. She then became a "little mother" to her younger brother, James, while their mother, Grace, worked double shifts to support them. Fortunately, Anthony Bibbo came into their lives a few years later, eventually becoming Grace's second husband. Tony was a better father to Jan and her brother, Jim, than they ever could have wished for. Jan graduated from Elkhart High School in 1953, a popular student who loved to sing in the choir. Soon after graduation, she married Thomas F Opfel of South Bend, Indiana, and the two lived in Marine Corps housing in the desert near Twentynine Palms, California. Shortly before Tom's service ended, son Greg was born in the Naval Hospital,and not long after that the family moved back to Indiana, then Niles, Michigan, and later South Bend, where her second son, James was born in 1964. In 1968 the foursome moved to Mishawaka, where Tom and Jan became involved in politics and local government. After first serving as Deputy, Jan ran for the office of City Clerk in 1976, was elected, and served four terms. She retired in 1991 to spend more time with her husband Tom at their lake cottage in Michigan. Following her retirement, she was honored by then-governor Evan Bayh as a Distinguished Hoosier, was named Mishawaka Woman of the Year in 1991, and also received recognition from the YWCA for her service to the community. Her family was very proud of her accomplishments. Sadly, her time at the cotage with Tom was cut short in 1997, when he died from cancer. Jan then moved to Lantana, Florida, to care for her mother, Grace. When Grace died in 2000 Jan realized her lifeloing dream to live in Arizona desert, relocating to Lake Havasu City in 2001, where she could be near her friend since childhood, Nancy (McDowell) Ullery and second mother, Catherine McDowell. In Lake Havasu Jan made many new and very dear friends. Jan loved animals, especially dogs, and was rarely without a faithful companion. She mourned the passing of them all, but none more than Zipper, a stray collie found by her son James. Jan always said she preferred small dogs, but Zipper occupied a special place in her heart and she never quit grieving his loss. For the last 10 years of her life she enjoyed watching the sun rise and set over the mountains, and feeding the quail and other wildlife that would gather near her back door. On one of her last days she told her son Greg "every day is beautiful." Jan is survived by her son, Greg Opfel, and daughter-in-law, Carol of Tigard, Oregon; son, James Opfel of South Bend; her brother, Jim Huber, and his wife, Meg of Overland Park, Kansas; nephews and niece, Benjamin Anthony Huber, David Huber and Libby Huber; and her beloved Yorkshire terrier, Kiki. She will also be greatly missed by the extended Bibbo family and her many friends. In addition to her parents and husband, she was predeceased by Tom's parents, Raymond and Cecelia Opfel, whom she adored. The family hopes to hold a memorial service in Mishawaka on a date to be determined. In lieu of flowers, please consider honoring Jan with a donation to the St Jude Children's Research Hospital, your local humane society, or any charity that benefits animals, and, if you smoke, please try to quit, and succeed.