Obituary of Janice Irene Skram

A Mass of Christian Burial for Janice Skram, 81, of Spirit Lake and formerly of LeMars, Iowa, will be held at 10:30 am, Friday, July 7, 2023, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Spirit Lake.

There will be a Rosary Service at 9:15 am, followed by a visitation until service time.

Interment will be at St. Margaret Catholic Cemetery in Spirit Lake.

To view the livestream please click the following link: https://stmarysspiritlake.org/onlinemass

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Project Purple, https://www.projectpurple.org/,  or the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society https://www.lls.org/ in honor of Janice.

Janice Irene Murphy Skram, the daughter of Stephen L. & Suzanne L. (Kotewa) Murphy, was born October 8, 1941 in Fairmont, Minnesota. She was raised and educated in Dubuque, Iowa, graduating from St. Joseph Academy, where she was the Sodality Prefect.

Janice married Thomas Edward Skram on September 8, 1962 in Dubuque, Iowa. The family made their home in St. Paul, Minnesota, Atlanta, Georgia, Nashville, Tennessee and Dubuque, Iowa, before moving to LeMars, Iowa. The couple moved to Spirit Lake in 1999.  Janice loved raising her children and taking care of the home. In later years, Janice and Tom owned and operated a Subway restaurant. 

Janice was a faithful member of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Spirit Lake, where she was a member of Catholic Daughter's of America.  She loved reading, listening to music and gardening. Her greatest joy came from spending time with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Tom and Janice enjoyed traveling with family and friends over the years. 

Janice passed away June 27, 2023, at her home in Spirit Lake at eighty-one years of age.

She is survived by her children, Julia (Skram) and David Peters, Cynthia (Skram) and James Staver, Thomas (Jr.) and Lisa Skram, Peter and Cheryl Skram, Michael and Lori Skram; grandchildren, Rachel Peters, Michael and Shelby Peters, Eric Peters, Samuel Peters, Megan Staver-Thibodeaux, Erin (Staver) and Kevin Chee, Luke Staver, Zachary Staver, Taylor Skram, Abby Skram, Zoe Skram, Addison Skram, Noah Skram, Owen Skram and Ashley Skram; great-grandchildren, Adalynn and Brooks Peters; and sister, Maureen (Murphy) Miller.

Janice was preceded in death by her parents, Stephen and Suzanne Murphy; husband, Thomas Edward Skram; sister, Joyce Murphy Gerken; brother, Dennis Murphy; grandson, Jakob Telman Skram.