Jaclyn Bisinger makes things grow. From the time she was in 4-H as a young girl and throughout her 29 years as a farmwife, she has taken an interest in nurturing things and watching them expand to their full potential. It is this ability that has allowed her to devote a great deal of her time to being a registered nurse, mother and philanthropist, and this passion for giving that has led her and her family to the Community Foundation.

Jaclyn was born in DeWitt, Iowa, on November 10, 1952, to a family of German descent with a long history of farming. She describes the community where she was raised as primarily German, progressive and well kept. She attended DeWitt Central High School, and later attended Scott Community to become a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). She then worked as an LPN at Mercy Hospital in Clinton for four years before she decided to seek higher certification. She returned to Scott Community College to become a Registered Nurse (RN), and proceeded to work at the University of Iowa Hospitals, Iowa City, Iowa.

Jaclyn’s parents had been introduced at her uncle’s wedding many, many years before, making for a romantic story. It was even more coincidental when Jaclyn met her future husband at that same uncle’s son’s wedding. Her cousin introduced her to Joseph Bisinger at the reception, and from that day forth, the course of her life shifted.

Jaclyn and Joseph were married September 9, 1978. He graduated from Oxford Junction High School and had been farming since he was in junior high. After the wedding and getting settled into their new life together, the couple moved from DeWitt to Monmouth, Iowa in 1979 to start up their own farm. Jaclyn worked both as a farmwife and as an RN at Jackson County Regional Health Center in Maquoketa, Iowa, where she has been employed for over 28 years now. On their farm, they raise corn, hay, oats and stock cows.

Jaclyn and Joseph’s family began in 1982 when their daughter, Janna, came into the world. Their son, Justin, arrived two and a half years later. Now 24 years old, Janna has graduated from Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, with a degree in agricultural business and a minor in agronomy. She works as a credit analyst for US Bank, and was married last fall to Nathan Becker, who teaches in the Midland Community School District. Justin, now 22 years old, is currently attending Iowa State and pursuing a major in animal science and agriculture business. His goal is to obtain a career as an animal chiropractor.

Jaclyn involves herself in community activities during her free time. She was a 4-H leader for seven years and is involved in her church. She and her son also share an interest for horses. The Bisingers have several riding horses and three draft horses. They have been active in the Baldwin Saddle Club for 19 years. One of her largest life projects stems back to her love of nurturing things. As a 4-H leader who wanted the club members to have community service opportunities, she organized her 4-H club to complete a courtyard-landscaping project. Jaclyn developed a beautiful courtyard for the extended care unit at the Jackson County Regional Health Center. When a new extended care unit wing was built, the 4-H club developed and completed the second courtyard with raised flowerbeds, shrubs, trees, a gazebo, a small fence and a garden fountain. Though the project is completed, she is still the coordinator of the project, and she and the 4-H club continue to take care of the courtyard. Lastly, Jaclyn also refers to herself as an addicted outdoor gardener, growing things at home such as vegetables, fruits, flowers and wildflowers and trees. When Joseph has any free time, Jaclyn says that he “likes to work for fun”, and loves helping the neighbors with their own projects.

Along with nurturing her farm, children, patients and garden, Jaclyn believes in the importance of nurturing memories too. Jaclyn’s father, Alfred Rickertson, died in a car accident in 1990. The family decided to donate the money that came from insurance to Grace Lutheran Church of DeWitt, and build a chapel on the church’s new campgrounds in memory of Jaclyn’s father. The chapel was modeled after one in Welton, Iowa, that Jaclyn’s mother, Janice, used to attend when she was a little girl. It was called the Welton Chapel, and it is used by Grace Lutheran Church for Thursday Church Services, Weddings and other events. Each year, Janice would continue to donate money to the upkeep of the chapel, and Jaclyn’s sister, Gynlyn, would handle the business papers, grants, donations and distribution of the money. When Janice passed away in 2005, Jaclyn made a donation through the DeWitt Community Foundation so the chapel could be maintained. Jaclyn says that none of the wonderful things she has done would have been possible without the full support she’d received from her husband and children.

The family has worked with the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend to establish the Alfred and Janice Rickertson Fund for Grace Lutheran Camp for the upkeep of the Wellton Chapel. Joseph and Jaclyn’s additional charitable interests include their church, cystic fibrosis, Amvets, Iowa Public Television, 4-H, FFA and the American Institute for Cancer Research. As the years go by, the Bisingers plan to continue sharing their blessings in attempts to keep precious memories of loved ones alive, and ignite positive growth in the community.