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Friends we will miss Submit your Friends We Will Miss to sunlakesnews@yahoo.com. Please keep remembrances to 400 words and include one recent, high-resolution photo. Jane Marie Gutknecht passed peacefully into the arms of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at the age of 100 on Easter Sunday, April 5, at her home on Birdie Drive. She was born March 25, 1926, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, to Adolf and Viola Stauffer. She grew up with two brothers and a sister. Jane began working at an early age, taking on dishwashing and babysitting jobs at 14. By 16, she had added weekend work at the local department store, where she handled change from the pneumatic-tube system and later moved into auditing. After graduating high school, she moved to Chicago to work for the War Production Board during World War II. When the war was over, Jane returned to Oshkosh, where she met and, on June 19, 1948, married Marvin Gutknecht. The couple lived in Beloit, Wisconsin, where their first daughter, Kay, was born. In 1952, they moved to Inglewood, California, after North American Aviation recruited her husband. Here they welcomed their second and third daughters, Susan and Sandra. In 1960, the family relocated to Redlands, California. She and her husband were active members of Christ the King Lutheran Church where they raised their children in faith. Once her children were in school, Jane returned to work at Harris's department store as a clerk, eventually becoming office manager. Later, she went to work at Lutheran Braille Workers in Yucaipa where she managed over 200 work centers both around the United States and internationally. She appreciated the regular schedule that allowed weekends off to be with Marvin on their sailboat. Jane retired in 1994 to care for Marvin during his illness. After his passing in 2003, she moved to Sun Lakes Country Club where she enjoyed an active social life, including bridge, bocce ball, bunco, social clubs, and pool activities. She became an active member of the Grace Lutheran Church in Banning. Two weeks before she passed she celebrated her 100th birthday with family and her friends from Sun Lakes and church. She spent her last evening of this life doing two of the things she loved: playing Rummy-Q and watching the Dodgers win at baseball. Jane was preceded in death by her older brother, Bob, and her husband, Marvin. She is survived by her younger sister and brother, three daughters — Kay, Susan, and Sandra — two granddaughters, Hannah and Leah, and three great-grandchildren, Lincoln, Malachi, and Jemma. 64 | SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | MAY 2026 |

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