Gertrude Jaje

Gertrude June (Chapko) Jaje, age 85, of Johnston, Iowa passed away Sunday, September 27, 2015, at Bishop Drumm Retirement Center, Johnston, Iowa.

Mass of Catholic Christian Burial will be held at St. Joseph Catholic Church, St. Johns, MI, on Saturday, October 3, 2015, at 11 AM. Rev. Fr. Michael Williams will officiate. Burial will be held at Riverside Cemetery, Elsie, Michigan. Visitation will be held on Friday, October 2, 2015, from 2:00-4:00 PM and 6:00-8:00 PM, with a Rosary at 7:00 PM, at Smith Family Funeral Homes, St. Johns, MI.

June was born in Washington Township, Michigan on June 3, 1930. She was the daughter of Addison and Ruth (Brattin) DeMott, a farming family, and the youngest of their twelve children. She graduated from Fulton High School, Middleton, Michigan with the class of 1948.

June met her first love, Michael Tony Chapko, at a dance in Pompeii, MI. On June 9, 1951, she and Mike were married at St. Cyril's Catholic Church in Bannister, MI. Mike and June spent their entire married life on their farm on Maple River Road in Elsie, MI. They enjoyed their life together working side-by-side on their dairy farm, and raising their nine children. Farm life was hard work, but many fun times were had there, sometimes unknown to Mom and Dad! Their faith and family were everything to them. After 33 years of marriage, Mike passed away June 17, 1984. Five years later, on April 8, 1989, June married her second love, Joseph Alexander Jaje, in Chesaning, MI. They enjoyed their 17 years of marriage in a home on Joe's former farm in Goodrich, MI. These were happy years spent tending to their vegetable and rose gardens and visiting with children and grandchildren. Joe passed away on September 5, 2006. Two years later, at the age of 77, June pulled up roots from Michigan, where she had lived her entire life, and moved to Johnston, Iowa, near her son Louis, where she enjoyed her last years living in her own cozy apartment at Martina Place Assisted Living, a Catholic retirement center. These last 7 ½ years were filled with joyful times spent with Louis and his family, receiving visits from her other children, grandchildren, and even by now, great-grandchildren, and making new friends.

June spent her entire life as a Christian, mother, homemaker, and farmer's wife. She was devoted to her family, Catholic faith, and was a hard-working, joyful, loving woman. June had a feisty approach to life, which kept the retirement center on its toes! Lots of laughs were enjoyed there. Along with her devotion to her family, one of the things that stood out most in her life was her devotion to Christ and the Catholic Church. Her faith was an inspiration to family and friends. She always had a well-used Bible on her night stand filled with prayer cards and devotionals. She was a member of St. Cyril's Catholic Church, Bannister, MI and a member of the Altar Society.

June is survived by her 9 children; Michael Chapko and fiancé Barb Bolton of Ovid, MI, Linda and Garry Hall of Battle Creek, MI, Virginia Chapko of Aberdeen, MD, Janet and Mark Korroch of Charlotte, MI, Louis and Dianne Chapko of Johnston, IA, Karen and Dean Simmer of Portage, MI, Rosemary and Lee Huguelet of St. Johns, MI, James Chapko and significant other Shelly Boccaccio of Elgin, IL, and Renee and Kevin Irrer of St. Johns, MI, 22 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, and brother James and Berneda DeMott of Pompeii, MI. She was predeceased by her parents, husbands; Michael Tony Chapko, and Joseph Alexander Jaje, 8 brothers and 2 sisters.

Memorials may be made to Bishop Drumm Retirement Center, 5837 Winwood Dr, Johnston, IA 50131. Online condolences can be sent to www.smithfamilyfuneralhomes.com. The family is being served by Smith Family Funeral Homes in St. Johns, Michigan.

Read Gertrude (Chapko) Jaje's Obituary and Guestbook on smithfamilyfuneralhomes.com.