May 9, 1934 – March 13, 2026
Janice Cook, 91 of Algona, passed away peacefully on Friday, March 13, 2026, at the Kossuth Regional Health Center in Algona. Funeral services will be held on Monday, March 23, 2026, at 2:00 PM at First United Methodist Church in Algona. Interment will take place at Riverview Cemetery in Algona. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at First United Methodist Church in Algona. Services have been entrusted to Lentz Funeral Home of Algona. Online condolences may be left at http://www.lentzfuneralhome.com.
Janice was born May 9, 1934, to Harold and Thelma Davidson McMullin in Brooklyn, Iowa. Janice graduated from Brooklyn High School in 1952. Growing up, she was a good athlete, played 6-on-6 girls’ basketball and was president of her senior class. In 1955, she graduated with her degree in nursing from Iowa Methodist School of Nursing and then married Sheridan Cook. Together they had three children.
During her career as a nurse, she worked for Drs. Koob and Schutter, St. Anne’s Hospital and the Good Samaritan Center in Algona. At age 50, Janice returned to school, earned a degree in Health Care Administration and thereafter, worked as an administrator of several nursing homes.
Over the years, Janice was a dedicated volunteer for the Girl Scouts, the Kossuth County Care Team, the League of Women Voters, both the Republican and Democratic parties and the Methodist Church. She was a 50-year member of the United Methodist Women and participated in a number of card and book clubs for many years. She played tennis into her eighties and swam until the age of ninety-one. Janice loved having coffee with friends, baking, knitting, playing scrabble, doing crossword puzzles and, most importantly, spending time with her three children and their families.
Left to cherish her memory are her children, Sheryl (Steve) Mertz of Robbinsdale, Minnesota, and Lynn (Ernie) Wolter of Algona, nine grandchildren, Amanda Solberg, Mindy Frideres, E.J. Wolter, Nicole Mertz, Jessica Gulley, Sarah Mertz, Amber Traub, Adam Cook and Jill Mertz, and eighteen great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, three brothers and her beloved son, Scott Cook.
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