Janyce Diane Ulch Pohlmann

Janyce Diane Ulch Pohlmann

Keystone

Janyce Diane Ulch Pohlmann, age 88, died Sunday, October 26, 2025 at home with her loving family by her side.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 AM Saturday, November 1, 2025 at St. John Lutheran Church in Keystone with Rev. Josiah Schultz officiating. Interment will be held at the Keystone Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 4:00 until 7:00 PM Friday, also at the church.

Janyce, the daughter of Leonard (Jeff) and Beatrice (Hach) Ulch, was born on April 2, 1937 in Clutier, Iowa at her grandparents’ house. She was baptized at the Methodist Church in Elberon. She started Country School for her first two years at Kane #9 which she had to walk several miles to attend. Her sister Joyce and brother JB drove to school in Belle Plaine every day, so she got to go along with them and took second and third grade in Belle Plaine. Keystone School consolidated and she then went on the bus to Keystone for her Junior High grades. Her Dad passed away when she was in the eighth grade and her Mom decided to build a house in Dysart across the street where her parents lived. They drove to Dysart almost every day to work on the house. Janyce went to school in Dysart for ninth, tenth and part of eleventh grades. She was a Cheerleader in ninth grade and then she and some other girls canvassed the town to get signatures so that they could have a basketball team the next year. She played on the team as a post guard, it was their first year in this sport and they didn't win many games, but had a lot of fun doing it. Her mother decided that she wanted to go back to the family farm as the renter’s lease was up, so Janyce stayed with her Aunt and Uncle and went to school in Keystone again, graduating in May of 1955. For fun she loved rollerskating.

She met her husband-to-be, Howard, while attending Keystone High School, they were married January 21, 1956 at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa. A Reception was held at her family farm and they had a Wedding Dance at the Keystone Turner Hall. It was minus-21 degrees that day.

The Pohlmann Family farm that they would be farming, had a family living and farming there until March of 1957, so Howard became a hired man for a family by Blairstown. While living by Blairstown, they took catechism lessons in the Lutheran Church and were confirmed in September of 1956. They lived in the extra farmhouse until they could move to the family farm north of Keystone. When they moved to Keystone, the Lutheran minister came out to visit them and asked if she would like to sing in the choir and Janyce was excited to do this. She has been in Choir ever since, being the oldest member there. Once the Keystone Nursing Care Center was built in 1973, she played the piano there for all 52 years, just recently retiring.

They had three children: Jeffrey, Tamie and Deena. Janyce was very involved on the farm, besides raising a large garden and canning, milking cows, cooking and baking and doing chores, she kept very busy. Janyce was well known in Keystone and surrounding communities for her delicious baking skills. She was a loving wife, mom, grandma and so much more to so many others.

Janyce joined many organizations during her lifetime. Turnerettes, Church groups and Legion Auxiliary. She loved bowling and bowled for many years, finally accomplishing a good game of 256 with a 656 series. They bowled in many bowling tournaments in local towns and she also bowled with Howard's team in National tournaments in Las Vegas and Reno, NV. She finally had to quit bowling due to four back surgeries.

When Howard went to NFO meetings or to Chicago baseball games, she was in charge of all of the chores. After the kids graduated, she started working outside the farm, NFO hog station, Belle Plaine Sale barn as clerk to the auctioneer, Postmistress in the Keystone Post Office, and Benton County Volunteer Program. She also clerked for Johnson Auction from Vinton, going to many farm auctions and also clerking at the Fair grounds in Vinton, Iowa.

She is survived by her three children, Jeff (Kelly) Pohlmann, of Vinton; Tamie Pohlmann of Keystone and Deena Anderson of Waukee, Iowa. She has 15 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great-grandchild.

She was preceded in death by her parents Jeff and Beatrice Ulch, her husband Howard (just over 4 months ago), her sister Joyce Coffin, brother JB Ulch, sisters-in-law Ruth Ulch, MaryAnn Pohlmann, Lillian Pohlmann, Irene Pohlmann and Arlene Stueck and brothers-in-law Jim Coffin, Leonard Pohlmann, LeRoy Pohlmann and Carl Stueck, and many nephews and cousins.

Online condolences: www.phillipsfuneralhomes.com