Jan E. Bieser, 61, of Mendota died Dec. 7, 2011, in her home. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday in St. John's Lutheran Church, Mendota, with the Rev. Dale Peterson officiating. Burial will be at Restland Cemetery, Mendota. Visitation is two hours prior to services Saturday in the church. Merritt Funeral Home provided arrangements. She was born May 3, 1950, in Mendota to Donald and Patricia (Frizol) Bieser. She graduated from Mendota High School in 1968, Illinois Valley Community College in 1970, and Illinois State University in 1972 where she earned a bachelor of arts degree in education. She taught at Apple River Middle School in Warren then at Franklin Grove Grade School and Paw Paw Junior High School before retiring in May 2009. She also worked at Pitney Bowes in Connecticut. She was past president of Paw Paw Education Association and a retired member of Illinois Education Association. She was a member of Starved Rock Foundation, former treasurer of VFW Post 4079 Ladies Auxiliary, a past Habitat for Humanity board member, and a past Mendota Civic Center board member. She was a member of St. John's Lutheran Church. She is survived by her parents of Mendota; one brother, Dennis (Deb) Bieser of Mendota; four sisters, Linda (Larry) Lindenmier of West Brooklyn, Sara (Vernon) Pfeifer of Paw Paw, Joanne (Lou) Lentz of Cary and Jeri (Sam Sr.) Surovy of Danbury, Conn.; nieces and nephews and best friend Kathy Despain. She was preceded in death by one nephew Kyle Lindenmier. Memorials may be directed to Habitat for Humanity, Susan G. Komen for the Cure or Graves-Hume Public Library.