Lana Koch

Lana Marie (Jakanoski) Koch, age 53, passed away peacefully on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in Billings, Mont., with her family and good friends by her side. Lana passed after a decade- long battle with Breast Cancer.

A Memorial Service will be held Friday, Dec. 13, at 11 a.m. at Bell Mortuary, Glasgow, Mont. Burial will follow at Highland Cemetery, Glasgow.

Immediately after burial, a reception for family and friends will be at Sam and Jeff's in Glasgow, as requested by Lana.

Lana was born Oct. 10, 1971, to John and Nadine Jakanoski at Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital in Glasgow, Montana. She was the youngest of five children. From an early age, Lana split her time on the family farm by the Tiger Buttes and their home in town. On the farm, she developed a love for horses and the outdoors. She would spend summers riding in the grain truck, listening to AM music with her older brother, Scott. There were many hours roller skating in the sweltering quonset with Leah. Living in town she developed a love of biking, friends, and socializing.

Lana was quite academic, an excellent speller. She enjoyed playing volleyball for the Glasgow Scotties, and had a talent for music in school. Lana sang in the GMS and GHS Choirs throughout her schooling. She was asked to sing for many weddings and community events. You would hear her sing the National Anthem at all of the Reds baseball games as a favor to her brother, Scott. She graduated from Glasgow High School in 1989 with high honors. She remained very close with a core group of friends from her high school years. She had an encyclopedic knowledge for every 80's movie and every song lyric–from country music to hard rock. Lana passed this unique talent on to both her daughters. She loved Ft. Peck Lake in the summers. This stemmed from camping at Ft. Peck with her older sister Paula and brother-in-law Andy. Lana was a strong swimmer, could tread water for hours, and out water ski everyone in the family.

After high school, Lana went on to graduate from Montana State University in Bozeman with a Bachelor's Degree in Nursing. Her first employment, as a Registered Nurse, was back in her hometown of Glasgow. This is where she met Dan Feldman, who was working in Glasgow on a road construction project. Together they moved to Boise, Idaho, and married in 1999. Boise is where she developed a love for being an Operating Room/OR Nurse at St. Luke's Hospital.

They welcomed their first daughter, Brynn, in 2004 and then soon thereafter returned to Montana to settle in Billings. They welcomed their second daughter, Savannah, in 2008. Lana and Dan divorced in 2011 and remained friends. She traveled back to Boise as often as she could to visit her close Boise friends.

In Billings, she was employed at St. Vincents in the OR. She was extremely proud of being one of the nurses that helped develop the OR Robotics program there and worked as the Robotics Coordinator in 2014. This job was her passion until her cancer treatments forced her into an early retirement. In 2016 she married Jaime Koch and became a stepmother to Delilah and Beckett until their divorce in 2024.

Lana was a proud mother of her girls. Traveling to watch Brynn and Savannah play Senior Bronc Volleyball was her favorite pastime. Only her true love for her daughters could make her cheer for a team other than her beloved Glasgow Scotties. Lana loved her Harry Potter books and movies. She was a giant Star Wars nerd. She got a kick out of her Dodgers and MSU Bobcats both winning this year. Go Cats!

Lana had a magnetic personality, everyone loved her due to her quick wit and smile. Her friends were her family also. She had a knack for building a community of close friends that supported her and her girls. Lana lived her life to the fullest. She did not complain and did not dwell on hardship. It can truly be said that she "lived" with cancer.

Lana's love for her daughters, family, and friends will carry us for a long time. She will be missed by all that had the privilege of knowing her.

She is preceded in death by her father, John Jakanonski; sister Cheryl Jakanoski Erickson; brothers Mark Jakanoski and Scott Jakanoski; and ex-husband Daniel Feldman.

Lana is survived by her wonderful daughters Brynn (Jake) Feldman and Savannah Feldman of Billings; her loving mother, Nadine Jakanoski; sister Paula (Andy) Hicks; nieces Leah (Nate) Miller, Bridget (Justin) Sholley and Jana Sather; great -nephews Vaughn Miller, Tucker Sholley, and Bo Sholley; great-nieces Tatumn Sholley and Tessa Miller; The Feldman Family; The Jamie Koch Family; The Jean Braden Family; and many, many dear friends.

Donations can be made in her name to: The Susan G. Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer Research.

Condolences may be left online at bellmortuarymontana.com.