Janet Coester, 1954 – 2026
Obituary published by The Gazette, June 8-9, 2026.
Janet Carol Coester, 71, of Iowa City passed away on June 7, 2026, at her family’s farm near Iowa City.
A graveside service will be held at 10:00 am on Wednesday, June 10 at Newport Township Cemetery, at the corner of Newport Road NE and Turkey Creek Road NE. A celebration of Janet’s life will be held at 10:00 am on Saturday, June 13, 2026, at The Celebration Farms, 4696 Robin Woods Lane NE, Iowa City. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to an environmental or peace group of the donor’s choice.
Janet is survived by her husband Richard Driver; siblings William (Lisa Coester), Hans (Cindy) Coester, Thomas Coester and Susan (John) Daufeldt. Janet is also survived by 6 nieces and nephews and numerous extended family and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents Fritz and Elizabeth Coester and her brother Michael Coester.
Online condolences and memories may be shared at www.lensingfuneral.com.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Janet prepared for her passing, after many years of struggling with cancer, by planning her celebration of life in detail. Here is the program. NOTE: You’ll find the poems mentioned in the program on the “Arts in Teaching & Service” page on this website.
Becky Blanchard sent this personal account of Janet’s passing:
After nearly daily trips to assist with Janet’s care on the family farm during the week of June 1st, Janet’s rapid physical decline was now obvious. On the morning of Sunday, June 7th, Becky Blanchard and family friend Becky Machtel went to care for Janet on Wind’s Reach Farms, arriving at 9:00 in the morning. Janet was mostly non-responsive, did have some lucid listening moments, but communication was difficult for her. At 11:30, Becky Blanchard needed to go care for her dog, and Ric (Janet’s husband) was encouraged to take some time away from the house, leaving Becky Machtel with Janet. Family was in and out that day. At 1:50, Ric returned and was holding Janet’s feet with Becky Machtel holding her hand, Janet looked at the ceiling, said “Dad?” and took her last breath at 2:00pm.
The preparation of Janet’s body was held on Tuesday morning, 9:00am, at Lensing Funeral Home in Iowa City. Becky Blanchard, Nancy Braun, Edith Chase, and Becky Machtel were there to tend Janet’s body. Dale Hawley came to say prayers in a nearby room. We said prayers, told little stories, and sang while we lovingly prepared her body with rose water. We decided to leave her face uncovered by the cotton material wrapping the rest of her body. The result of this was a similar look to her picture as a Novice at the Abbey. Later that day, Janet’s body was placed in her pre-ordered casket built by Trappist Monks.
The Graveside Service was held at the Newport Township Cemetery at 10:00am. About 40 members of the family and friends gathered and were welcomed. A brief explanation was given about the Baha’i Faith. The Prayer for the Departed by recited by Becky Blanchard, followed by other prayers, poetry, and songs offered by those attending. This small, country cemetery was chosen by Janet, to be buried beside her parents, Betsy and Fritz Coester. A couple of notes relevant to Janet’s love of nature: she had special permission to be buried without the use of a vault. Also, a flock of sheep maintained the grass, and were removed to a nearby farm during the service. Within a half-hour of the service ending, severe weather pummeled the area.
The Celebration of Life was held at Celebration Farms just north of Iowa City, also totally planned by Janet two months before her passing. Enclosed is the program used at the Celebration. The information was written by Janet, the Writings and the readers selected by her. The symbol on the cover was created by Janet and stands for “love, peace, and joy.” Edith Chase put together the written material and pictures from Janet’s Facebook page to complete and print the program. There were about 80 friends and family members that attended the Celebration, starting in a large semi-circle to present the program and share memories. After the closure of the program all were invited to enjoy a meal, catered by the family and supplemented by local Baha’is, and conversation.