Jan Spurgin

Janice A. Spurgin, 79, of Paxton, passed away May 30, 2026, at Bergan Mercy Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska.

Jan was born December 4, 1946, in Hastings, Nebraska, to Joseph Mazour and Blanche (Nejezchleb) Mazour. She graduated from Lawrence High School with the class of 1963 and went on to the University of Nebraska, where she lived with Marge Holm and Connie Francis in Love Memorial Hall and earned her Bachelor's degree in education. Jan taught school for a couple of years following college.

On June 16, 1973, she married Gerald Spurgin at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Lawrence, Nebraska. The couple settled in Paxton, where they farmed and raised their family.

Jan was the family cheerleader and the glue who held everyone together. She was in her element when the kids and grandkids were all under one roof, and she loved gathering people in. Travel was one of her great joys, and among her highlights were the Holy Land, Greece, Jordan, Hungary, Mexico, Maine, and Machu Picchu, where she and her daughter spent time at a children's learning center. She continued to sponsor children from that area for years to come, as they remained in her heart. A trip to the Czech Republic helped bridge a decades-old divide in her lineage brought about by communism and deepened her passion for family, genealogy, and learning.

Jan was a woman of steadfast faith. She attended the March for Life nearly every year and ran Faith Formation at her parish for almost 40 years. After Gerald's death, she was determined to keep his farming legacy alive and set about learning the business with the same steady resolve she brought to everything. Jan also had an artistic flair and once entered and won the contest to design the Keith County Flag.

Jan was preceded in death by her husband, Gerald; siblings, Roger (Lynn) Mazour, and Len Mazour; sister-in-law Corrine Mazour; and two unborn children.

She is survived by her three sons, Jeremy (Caroline) Spurgin of Ogallala, Jon Spurgin of Golden, Colorado, and Jacob (Krista) Spurgin of Golden, Colorado; her daughter, Jocelyn (Lane) Fattig of Paxton; six grandchildren, Alexis, Kepler, Andromeda and Tycho Spurgin; Oliver, and Jovee Fattig; her brother, David Mazour of Westminster, Colorado; sister-in-law Jo Mazour of Lawrence, Nebraska; and many other relatives and friends.

Visitation will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Paxton, with the Rosary recited at 6 p.m. that evening at the church. The Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Monday, June 8, 2026 at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Paxton, with Father Suresh Bandha and Father Bryan Ernest Concelebrating. Burial will follow at Paxton Cemetery.

A memorial has been established in Jan's memory for later designation. Condolences may be shared at prairiehillsfuneralhome.com, where the Mass will be streamed live.

Prairie Hills Funeral Home of Ogallala is in charge of arrangements.