Thea Janis Schleunes

Thea Janis Schleunes, a beloved mother, friend, and pillar of her community, passed away peacefully on September 27, 2024, at the age of 97.

Born into responsibility during the depression as the oldest girl in her South Dakota family, she remained focused throughout her life on supporting her children, parents, siblings, nephews, nieces, and friends in important ways that truly made a difference. She took life seriously and made the world a better place for many people.

She started teacher training college immediately after high school, and began teaching high school classes at age 19. Within a few years, she had earned an English degree with minors in history and music. She married husband Donald J. Schleunes in 1951. In 1954, she was the first of several Holsworth family members to take up residence in Eureka, California, where she lived until 2021.

She was a long-time member of the Eureka First United Methodist Church where she sang in the choir, taught Sunday school, and participated in the women’s society. She also joined the League of Women Voters of Humboldt County in 1963 and was very active for the next 4 decades.

Janis and Don bought several rental properties during the 1960s and 1970s, which she managed until Don’s untimely death in 1988.

Janis pursued a life-long interest in dance and performance. Having learned baton twirling at an early age, she taught younger children and choreographed marching routines for the high school drum corp. In later years, she learned square dancing and attended many square dancing conventions.

She is predeceased by her beloved granddaughter Camille and survived by her children and their spouses: Kara Schleunes and Michael Sdao, Kurt Schleunes and Della Weinheimer, Mark Schleunes and Margaret Boehm. Her children and her extended family will be forever grateful for her unwavering commitment to their welfare.

The family will provide notice of a memorial service in the future. The family requests donations be made in Janis’s name to Planned Parenthood and the Democratic Party, two organizations she supported during her life.