Jeanne E. Koster

Jeanne Elizabeth Koster of Watertown, SD passed away on Monday, June 29th, after a courageous battle with Parkinson's disease.

Jeanne was born on July 4th, 1940, to Edward and Jane Reno. She was the first born in a long line of Reno siblings. She grew up in Trenton, Michigan in the little house on Birchwood Street.

Her love of learning and exceptional intellect afforded her the ability to skip her senior year of high school and go on to attend Mary Grove College in Detroit, earning a degree in English and a minor in Spanish. For her first job out of college, she was recruited to teach at Little Flower Catholic School in Mobile, Alabama. Her love of teaching then took her to Evergreen, Colorado. Jeanne had many fond memories and stories to tell about her early years in teaching. 

She obtained a master’s degree in Middle English from The University of Maryland. She taught for the university, teaching writing at the Pentagon and the Social Security Administration. Jeanne also worked at Goddard Space Flight Center as a technical writer. 

It was at the University of Maryland where she met her husband Jim.  Jim and Jeanne were married on November 29th, 1968.

Drawn to Watertown by her former college roommate, Lois Hart, Jim and Jeanne made Watertown their home in 1975. Jeanne taught Writing and English Literature at Mount Marty College.  She served on the board of the South Dakota Resources Coalition. She was the director of the South Dakota Peace and Justice Center. This work was her lifeblood, as she was a tireless advocate for state and national environmental and social justice issues. She lobbied for the rights of single working mothers and Indigenous People and the abolition of the death penalty.  In her purse, she always carried a petition, ready to ask people to sign. 

After retiring in 2006, Jeanne was able to devote more time to her other passion, her organic garden. She was a dedicated gardener. She looked forward to escaping South Dakota winters in Florida and visiting her daughters in Texas and Tennessee, all the while, continuing to advocate for various causes. Jeanne lived a life of purpose, dedicated to helping others, while living out her Catholic faith.

She is survived by her husband of 57 years, Jim, her daughters, Theresa (Roel) Chapa, Manju (Khris) Carrow and granddaughter Karina, thirteen siblings: Teddy, Jackie, Billy, Freddy, Therese, Bonnie, Danny, Philip, David, Raymond, Chris, Mike and Amy,  numerous brothers and sisters-in-laws, and many nieces and nephews. 

The family is forever grateful for Jeanne’s care nurse, Aniecia.

A Funeral Mass will be held at Holy Name Catholic Church in Watertown, Tuesday, July 7th at 10:30 AM.  Visitation will be prior starting at 9:30 AM.  The funeral mass will be live-streamed and recorded on our website.

 A memorial service will be held at a later date in her hometown of Trenton, Michigan.

-I want to see a mighty flood of justice a torrent of doing good- Amos 5:24

Arrangements by Crawford-Osthus Funeral Chapel www.crawfordosthus.com Watertown and Hayti

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