You are here
Home ›Maress "Jo" Lenz

Maress Jo “Jo” Lenz, 77, of Lansing passed away peacefully in her home Sunday, June 9, 2024. A celebration of life was held Saturday, June 15 at TJ Hunter’s Banquet Hall in Lansing.
Maress Jo “Jo” Lenz was born October 26, 1946 in Waterloo, the second daughter of Paul and Aletha (Kroeger) Moore. When Jo was young, her family moved from Evansdale to northeast Iowa to take up farming in Churchtown. On the farm Jo learned the value of hard work, a lesson she appreciated and carried with her throughout her entire life.
Jo attended Eastern Allamakee Community Schools, and graduated from Kee High School in 1964. While she was still in high school, Jo met the man who would become the love of her life, her bus driver, Roger Lenz. Jo and Roger were married May 26, 1964, and they just celebrated their 60th anniversary with a trip out west.
Jo’s most important job title was “Mother”, raising her five children: Bradley, Paul, Kirby, Penny and Jill, as well as her nephew, Steven Thorsten, and a grandson, Robert Lenz. A kind and loving mother, Jo raised her children to be caring, independent, hard working adults.
Jo worked various jobs while her children were young, selling Avon, working at the local Standard station, and working for Barr’s News. Jo also touched the lives of many children in the community as a bus driver for Eastern Allamakee Community School District, driving a daily route for 15 years. In her later years, Jo was a Pipeline bus driver before going on to work for The Allamakee Journal and The Standard Newspaper for many years before retirement.
In retirement, Jo was a devoted grandmother to her 10 grandchildren. She enjoyed watching their many activities and enjoyed watching her grandchildren grow and start families of their own, blessing her with four great-grandchildren.
Jo was a woman of many talents, and will be remembered for her green thumb, her garden, and her many canned goods. Jo’s pickles were renowned, and no family gathering was complete until there was a jar (or two!) placed on the table. Jo was also an excellent seamstress and quilter, and enjoyed her sewing sessions with her friends. Jo graciously blessed her family with quilts designed with their special interests and hobbies in mind, leaving us all with one final hug when we need it the most. Jo was a member of the Red Hat Society, she was a fine hand at cards with her friends, and she enjoyed following Iowa Hawkeyes basketball.
Jo is survived by her husband, Roger, of Lansing; her children: Bradley (Kim) of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Paul (Julie Glisczinski) of Lansing, Kirby (Beth Wilson) of Lansing, Penny (Kevin) Adair of Coggon, and Jill Lenz of Cedar Rapids; nine grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; one sister, Kyle Ann Moore; and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her father- and mother in-law, Curtis and Virginia Lenz; one grandson, Robert Lenz; and her sister, Ona Jean Smith.