Glenda "Jean" Herbel

Glenda “Jean” (Crabb) Herbel, 83, of Colby, Kansas, passed away on April 1, 2026, after a hard-fought battle with pancreatic cancer. Jean was born December 7, 1942, the first anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, to Glenn and Dorothy (Phillips) Crabb and grew up in Colby as a middle child which is probably why she was adaptable and the proverbial peacemaker for her family.

Jean, Mom, Grandma Jeannie or “Gigi”, was rarely without a smile and her family was the most important thing to her. With 7 grandkids and 8 great grands, it could be difficult to get through to her on birthdays and holidays. But she was the texting queen to everyone. Even through her final days, she tried to respond whenever anyone reached out to her.

She shared her life for over 66 years with Harold on the family farm where she found much peace, especially in sunsets and walks with her dog, which she continued to do as she could even after her diagnosis. She also was an avid reader and passed on her love of reading to her kids and several of her grandkids.

Jean was a true farm wife champion and became a bucket calf expert for many years until Harold retired from active farming. But Jean wasn’t ready to retire and started working off the farm for the first time and found her second calling. Most recently, she especially loved her job as a “breakfast” lady at local motels because she knew early morning alarms were normal for her. Her family often got pictures and text messages of people she met at the motel because no one was a stranger. Jean worked past age 80 and only “retired” after she became ill with cancer.

Besides being a devoted farm wife, raising Butch and Tami were Jean’s focus for many years. She was a room mom for one of them almost every year they went to Colby grade schools and teachers could always count on her helping out. She was a 4-H mom to the two of them and then her oldest grandkids, Amanda, Austin and Alex for many years. Thomas County Fair time was always the high point of the summer with getting projects ready and anticipating livestock showings, judgings and ribbons for lots of hard work.

Jean was an avid sports fan and followed Colby High School and Colby Community College teams as well as college and pro football. The ends of college bowl season and the Super Bowl always were a bit of a letdown. She loved her Big 8, then Big 12 teams, and often reached out to her family to comment on various games. Completing her annual NCAA basketball bracket was a must and it wasn’t uncommon for her to submit 2 or 3 brackets locally. She attended many sporting events and school activities for her kids and grandkids.

Harold and Jean enjoyed their time at Trenton Lake for many years where they loved to fish. They even made a handful of trips to Mexico with friends to fish. Later on, they replaced those fishing trips with fishing in Colorado and New Mexico. When those trips became too far to travel, they took their camper to Hoxie to fish. They also loved traveling to the Kansas State Fair in September with their camper where Jean always found useful Christmas presents. She also loved her trips to Colorado with her sister which reminded them of their family trips growing up. It was important to Jean that she attend as many graduations, weddings, showers and birthday celebrations as possible, often traveling to Missouri, Nebraska and Colorado. Her kids, grandkids and great grandkids will cherish each trip she took to visit them.

Jean was a member of P.E.O. Chapter CE of Colby and was able to see her granddaughter, Ana, initiated as a 5th generation in Chapter CE last October. Jean also was a member of the Methodist Church for many years.

Jean was preceded in death by her parents, Glenn and Dorothy (Phillips) Crabb and brother, Jay Crabb.

Jean leaves behind her husband, Harold F. Herbel, and son, Harold G. “Butch” Herbel, both of Colby and her daughter, Tami (Troy) Ledger, of Omaha, Nebraska; granddaughter Amanda (Travis) Fromholtz and great grandchildren, Jocelyn, Remy Jack and Macklin of Lathrop, Missouri; grandson Austin Herbel and his fiancee, Leitha Kay of Manhattan, Kansas; grandson, Harold “Alex” (Jessica) Herbel and great grandchildren, Elsie and Breck of Lathrop, Missouri; granddaughter Hollie Herbel of Hays, Kansas; grandson Christopher (Karen) Chavez and great granddaughter, Isabel of Colorado Springs; granddaughter Olivia (Taylor) Rogers and great granddaughters, Georgia and June of St. Francis, Kansas; granddaughter Ana Chavez and her companion, Austin Karel of Omaha; and sister, Janice (John) Hanna and nephew, Jay Hanna of Prescott, Arizona.

The family will hold a celebration of life and lunch at the Colby Event Center 1200 South Franklin, Colby Kansas on Saturday, June 13, 2026, from 11:30am -2pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts to two of Jean’s favorite organizations can be made to the Pioneer Memorial Library or Thomas County Historical Society Prairie Museum of Art and History and mailed in care of Baalmann Mortuary, PO Box 391, Colby, KS 67701. For information or to leave condolences visit baalmannmortuary.com

Jean’s joyful smile, bright spirit, kind heart and sense of humor will be missed by so many people whose lives she touched in some manner.

“Your wings were ready, our hearts were not”