RAPID CITY- Jan A. Martina was granted her angel wings on December 13th, 2013, after her struggle with cancer. Her final days were spent surrounded by family and friends. Jan was born December 6th, 1943, in El Paso, Texas, the daughter of David and Ardrie Hermes. As a young child, she moved to rural Timber Lake, SD on the Hermes' family homestead where she lived for the remainder of her childhood years. Jan graduated from Timber Lake High School in 1962 and moved to Washington D.C., to work for the FBI. It was there that she married George Martina and relocated to Clifton, NJ and had their first child, Christa, in 1972. A few years later, they moved back to Timber Lake, SD and had their second child, Carlo, in 1975. A short time later, Jan and her family moved to Bismarck, ND, where the dream of Ceramic Designs Midwest, Inc., was created and still exists today. Early in the 1980's, Jan moved to Wright, WY, where she reclaimed her youthful spirit. She loved the outdoors, horseback riding, playing softball, racquetball, darts and bowling. Jan also loved to cook, which was an area of great expertise for her. She insisted on being "The Cook" at all family functions, whether it was a graduation ceremony, wedding, Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas, or just a regular weekend afternoon get-together. Besides family, her work was one of her biggest priorities. Jan worked as a Security/EMT Officer in Gillette, WY as well as in Beulah, ND. In June 2006, she decided that she wanted to be close to family, so she relocated to Rapid City, SD and at the same time, started her new career as a Control Room Operator at Western Dakota Juvenile Services Center. While all of her past work positions were definitely challenging and exciting to Jan, her biggest dream was to become a veterinarian. She loved animals and wanted nothing more but to care for them. You can be guaranteed that she did not partake in any conversation where a "prize buck" was being discussed. Her love for animals would not allow for her to watch Bambi and the commercials on animal abuse would bring tears to her eyes. During her battle with cancer, Jan came across a quote at a chemo treatment that she really took to heart "Life's not about waiting for the storm to pass . . . it's about learning to dance in the rain." - Vi Greene Survivors include daughter, Christa (Jeromey) Smith, Rapid City; son, Carlo (Natasha) Martina, Rapid City; two brothers: Tom (Chris) Hermes, Timberlake; Bill (Denise) Hermes, Sutherlin, OR; four sisters: Lynn (Bill) Hahne, Trail City; Peg (Jerry) Cramer, Marshfield, WI; Verne (Larry) Onken, Rock Falls, IL; Michele West, Watertown; three grandchildren: Kyle, Denna, and Dominic; many nieces and nephews and many great nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; one sister, Diana, and two brothers: David and Frank Hermes. Visitation will be from 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 18, 2013 at Osheim & Schmidt Funeral Home with a Christian Wake Service following at 6:30 p.m. Christian Funeral Mass will be at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, December 19, 2013 at Blessed Sacrament Church with Rev. Timothy Castor and Rev. Brian Christensen presiding. Burial will follow at Mountain View Cemetery.