Jannan Malanaphy

Friday, April 7, 2023 11:47 am

On Friday, March 31, 2023, Jannan Joyce (Smock) Malanaphy was welcomed into the arms of the
Lord. Many people envision their loved ones being carried there on the wings of angels…we’re
pretty sure she walked!
Mass of Christian burial will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, at St. Benedict
Catholic Church in Decorah with Rev. Donald Hertges presiding. Burial will be in the St. Benedict
Cemetery. Visitation will be from 3 to 7 p.m. on Monday, April 10, 2023, at the St. Benedict
Catholic Church, 307 West Main St. in Decorah and one hour before the service on Tuesday at
the church. There will be a rosary at 2:30 p.m. before the visitation on Monday at the church.
Jannan was born May 27, 1930, in Hawkeye, Iowa to Lucille (Liddy) and Clair Smock. She was the
second of three children. As a young lady in her early teens, she saved her little brother from
their house fire. The brother and a friend were discovering the magic of matches in a
closet…they survived! This attribute of first responder/firefighter was passed down to at least
two of Jannan’s grandchildren. She graduated from Immaculate Conception Academy high
school in Dubuque in 1948, where she learned a great deal, and as a result, it gave her a deep
love for her Catholic faith. Jannan’s faith was an essential foundation of her life. Jannan always
said the nuns at Immaculate Conception were her “saving grace”.
After high school, Jannan moved to Decorah, where she met John Charles Malanaphy. She
worked at the Farm Bureau office and in the Auditor’s office at the Winneshiek County
courthouse. Jannan and John were united in marriage Oct. 24, 1949. They were blessed with
seven children on a farm outside of Decorah on the Bluffton Road. The trial of starting a family
in a small 4-room house, without indoor plumbing, for nearly10 years, was similar to being a
pioneer woman, but she and John rose to the challenge. They had a big vegetable garden,
raised beef cows and horses, and began Malanaphy’s Riding Stables which they and their
children ran for many years.
Jannan and John were lifelong members of St. Benedict Church in Decorah. Jannan cleaned the
rectory at St. Benedict for many years, for many priests. She was also the sacristan at St.
Benedict, later in her life, and until she was about 90 years old. Even in her stages of dementia,
she was insisting on getting to church. If she knew it was Saturday, she was dressed in her best
clothes and waiting for someone to pick her up and take her to church. One Saturday, when no
one was able to take her, she “broke out” of the home and headed down the sidewalk. When
asked where she was going, she said “I’m going to church!”
Jannan was an avid walker her whole life. She started walking as a way to relax and get away by
herself. She started saying the rosary as she walked and this became part of her daily ritual.
Many Hail Mary’s were sent up to Mary for her intercession, on behalf of her family!
She was a proud member of the Young at Heart fitness group at Crater Fitness in Decorah still at
the age of 90. Her words of wisdom were “move it or lose it”, and if you asked her how she was,
she replied “fit as a fiddle and ready to fly”. If she wasn’t out moving it, you would find her
racing up the driveway of a loved one to soak in every minute with a friend, child, or grandchild.
Jannan is survived by six children: John, Decorah; Pat (Pam), Monona; Mike (Juanita), Decorah;
Clair (Sally), Decorah; Tom (Kim), Decorah; Bridget (Brad) Christopher, Decorah; grandchildren:
John Malanaphy III, Marie (Chad) Crawford, Daniel Malanaphy, Shane (Jenny) Malanaphy, Sarah
(Ben) Christopher, Tiffany Malanaphy, Brian (Erica Jensen) Malanaphy, Jamie Malanaphy, Carly
Malanaphy, Kelly (Jeff) Evans, Luke (Sarah) Malanaphy, Colin (Mackenzie O’Connor) Malanaphy,
Kristen (Justin) Black, Brennan (Lauren Fisher) Malanaphy, Emma Malanaphy, Deirdre (Adam
Kriener) Christopher, Dawson Christopher. Great-grandchildren: Eleanor Malanaphy, Cameron
and Beau Crawford, Tanner, Tristan and Elizabeth Malanaphy, Cole, Dominic, Anthony & Damian
Christopher, Caden and Caylee Malanaphy, Emmett Malanaphy, Hayden and Hallie Evans, Grace,
Elias, Azelie, John Paul & Charles Malanaphy, and two more on the way; her sisters-in-law:
Lucille and Reva Smock, Jean Malanaphy; two brothers-in-law: Jack Kendall and Laverne
Massman, and countless nieces and nephews, too numerous to list.
Jannan was met in heaven by her loving husband John, their daughter Deirdre, her parents Clair
and Lucille Smock, her in-laws James and Dorothy Malanaphy, her two brothers, LaVae and
Robert Smock, her sisters and brothers-in-law: Betty & Glen Martin, Joyce Lynch, James
Malanaphy, Dorothy Ellen Kendall, Mary Manning, and Julia Massman.
Jannan enjoyed a life well lived, full of service in her faith, family, friends, fun and work! She will
be greatly missed by all who knew & loved he