Jodi Kiefer was born November 20, 1963, in St. Peter, Minnesota, and passed away May 9, 2015, at her home in Atlanta. Raised in Prior Lake, Minnesota, she graduated from Prior Lake High School and then attended The University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, graduating cum laude with degrees in marketing and German. During college she participated in a study abroad program in Trier, Germany, and while there she met her future husband who was traveling with mutual friends throughout Europe.
Upon graduating from St. Thomas she took a job with ASSE International Student Exchange where she helped thousands of families and foreign teens realize the value of cultural exchange. In 1991 the job took Jodi to Washington, D. C. where she spent a year and then in 1992 took her to Atlanta which has been her home since then. Many opportunities to travel with ASSE allowed her to enjoy Europe, Australia, Africa and the Middle East.
In 1996 she married William Kiefer in St. Paul, Minnesota, at the Minnesota Historical Center overlooking the Minnesota State Capitol. After their two children were born she took a stay at home position with ASSE to be able to spend time raising them. If she wasn’t a team mom, room mom or working in the school library, she could be seen in the stands cheering them on in their sporting events.
Besides raising her family she was an active volunteer at schools, NYO, played Bunco with neighborhood friends, belonged to the garden club continued to enjoy travel and to read. Jodi also thoroughly enjoyed a three year stint working at the Pre-School at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church. Her warm personality and the unconditional love she freely gave will be deeply missed and her memory will live on in the hearts of family and friends.
Survivors include her husband William Kiefer, daughter Alissa and son Jack, her mother Karen Nau of Prior Lake, Minnesota, father Russ Schmidt (Diane) of Cloquet, Minnesota, brother Nathan Schmidt (Kerryn) of Coffs Harbour, Australia, exchange student sister, Paula Maigren of Landskrona, Sweden, father-in-law Jim Kiefer of Mesa, AZ, sister-in-law Joan (Keith) of Hutto, TX, brother-in-law John (Marida) of Buffalo, MN. as well as many nieces and nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. Those who preceded Jodi in death are her mother-in-law Marge Kiefer, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
Services will be held at 2 P.M. Sunday, May 17, at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church located at 3180 Peachtree Road NW, Atlanta, GA 30305. In lieu of flowers, donations to Jodi’s International Student Scholarship are preferred. These may be sent to Jodi’s International Student Scholarship Attn: Bill Kiefer located at 4279 Roswell Road NE Ste. 102 #178 Atlanta, GA 30342-3700 or taken to any Wells Fargo Bank where you need to identify the memorial account of Jodi’s International Student Scholarship and make your contribution to the account.
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