Community grieves a 'terrible tragedy'

A family, church and community are grieving the unnecessary loss of Mandy Jahn and her two young children

DWIGHT -- Amanda Jahn spent the evening Thursday doing what she does best, working with children and music by giving a violin lesson just hours before she and her children were killed by an alleged drunk driver.

"She was an excellent violinist. She was on her way back from teaching lessons and stopping at her parents' to pick up her kids and go home," said Todd Thomson, minister of discipleship at Amanda Jahn's church, First Christian Church of Morris. "She was a young and vibrant young person. She was very encouraging and inspirational to other people. She will be missed terribly."

"We're trying to do well for the family, but we're also grieving ourselves," he added.

Amanda Jahn, who was 27 and is known locally as Mandy, was killed with her 11-month-old daughter Kaitlyn and her 3-year-old son Ryan.

Amanda Jahn was driving south on Illinois 47 just outside of Mazon when another vehicle, traveling west on Gardner Blacktop, allegedly ran a stop sign and struck her automobile. The young family's vehicle rolled several times, landing in a cornfield, said Grundy County Coroner John Callahan.

The Jahn children were pronounced dead at the hospital at about 9:30 p.m., but their mother was pinned in her vehicle and pronounced at the scene. All died of massive trauma injuries, Callahan said.

The driver allegedly responsible for the deaths, Ann Marie Getz, 43, of Streator, is in intensive care at Morris Hospital and is under police guard, said Grundy County Sheriff Terry Marketti.

Her charges were upgraded Friday evening to four counts of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, a class two felony, said Sheldon Sobol, Grundy County state's attorney. Sobol said because it is a multiple-death case, Getz could be sentenced to as much as 28 years in prison.

Getz won't be taken to Grundy County jail until she is released from the hospital, sometime next week, Marketti said. Getz's bond was set at $1 million.

Marketti would not give details but said Getz had other alcohol violations on her record.

Just last week, Amanda Jahn, her husband Josh and their children were celebrating her sister's wedding. But now her sister is on her way back from her honeymoon in Hawaii to mourn with her family, Thomson said.

One of Amanda Jahn's biggest roles in the church was working with the youth program. She was a leader of the high school girls group, said Greg Boldt, the youth pastor.

Amanda Jahn and Boldt were supposed to go to Springfield on Friday night to attend a youth program conference.

At lunch Friday, Boldt was gathering with a group of Amanda Jahn's former youth group kids who were traveling back from college to meet and remember their mentor.

"She was an amazing young Christian woman. She had a tremendous family and was one of the most loving people I've ever seen," Thomson said.

Amanda Jahn grew up in Morris, graduating from Morris High School in 1999. She married Josh Jahn in December 2000, according to her Myspace page, where she refers to him as her "best friend." She also names her parents, Tom and Kandy Borneman, as her heros and talks of how much she loved their annual trips to Disney World.

Amanda Jahn and her family lived on Chippewa Street in Dwight for the last three or four years, according to neighbors.

"They were really nice church people," said neighbor Rick Bistry as he choked back tears. "It's a terrible tragedy."

Bistry said he and the Jahns were not really close, but friendly.

"You know, you go to work and you come home and see him cutting the grass. If he needed help or I needed help, he'd help me or I'd help him," Bistry said.

On the other side of the Jahn home lives Iris Wilder, who said she always enjoyed the company of the Jahns and their "two beautiful children."

"They were very friendly. They were there for me when my husband died," Wilder said.

Wilder lost her husband in September and has been so busy trying to keep her mind off of it that she hadn't heard about the Jahns' deaths until The Herald News spoke to her at her home late Friday morning.

"Sometimes were so involved in our own grief we don't know what is going on in the world around us," she said, tearing up. "I'm very sorry to hear about this."

Although she kept busy at church, Amanda Jahn loved being a stay-at-home mother, according to her Myspace page.

Josh Jahn works for Hogan Walker, a John Deere dealer in Dwight and as a firefighter for the Dwight Fire Department. He also is active at the church.

Tentative arrangements were made Friday. Visitation is expected to be held from 3 to 8 p.m. Monday at the First Christian Church, 45 W. Southmor Road in Morris. The funerals will begin at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the church.