Janet grew up on a small Iowa farm near the city of Davenport Iowa. She and her two sisters attended a one-room rural school for nine years. She was one of 3 students in her class. She graduated from Davenport High School in 1955, which was the largest high school in Iowa at the time. Her father was a refrigeration and air-conditioning repairman of German ancestry and her mother was a grade school teacher who had English and Swedish ancestry. Janet was able to visit Sweden, Germany and England in her later life to connect with her heritage.
After high school, Janet attended Marycrest College in Davenport, and then went to Iowa State College in Ames. That’s where she met Herb Lingren. They were married for over 40 years! Herb passed away suddenly in November 1998. Throughout their life together, they lived with their family in Iowa, Idaho, Florida and Nebraska.
Janet and Herb moved to Pocatello, Idaho in 1967 where she raised her four children, (Diana, Mark, Bruce and Sharon), and worked as a grade school teacher. In 1979, she received her Doctorate degree in Counseling & Guidance from Idaho State University. She and Herb moved to Lincoln in August 1980 when Herb accepted a position at the University of Nebraska as a Professor and a Family Life Specialist for the State of Nebraska. Janet then began her profession as a Licensed Mental Health Practitioner and Psychotherapist in Lincoln with dream analysis and Jungian psychology as her special areas of interest and expertise. She was an independent practitioner and continued to see clients through the end of 2025.
Janet’s family and friends were her major areas of interest. She delighted in visits to art museums and galleries, concerts, and plays. She loved to read and was a member of several writing groups in Lincoln. She was a member of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, Daughters of the American Revolution, The Norden Club of Lincoln, and is a Sigma Kappa Alumni. Janet saw her life as a spiritual journey and continued her pursuit of discovery and learning until the end.
Janet is survived by daughters Diana Lingren, Lincoln, and Sharon Lingren Meschi (Mansour), Moreno Valley, CA; son Mark Lingren (Dorothy), Carmichael, CA; grandchildren Sean Lingren (Stephanie Xiao), South Pasadena, CA; Mattin Meschi, Ashland, OR; Sophia Lingren Harano (Jacob Ranjbaran), Lincoln; Shannon Lingren (Eric), Stockholm Sweden; Tarra Meschi (Jordon Lim), Irvine CA; great grandchildren Sebastian Lingren (Sweden) and Lucy Lingren (California); sister Marilyn Sheahan, Elmhurst, IL and many nieces and nephews.
Janet was preceded in death by her parents Irwin and Helen, husband Herb, son Bruce, and sister Marjorie Spranger.
Her Celebration of Life is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at Roper and Sons Midtown Chapel, 4300 O Street, Lincoln.
Memorial gifts can be made to the Herb Lingren Memorial Fund at the University of Nebraska Foundation, the Norden Club Foundation of Lincoln, the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra, or UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief).