Evelyn I. Jensen
April 15, 1924 — December 24, 2010
Evelyn Irma Jensen was born on April 15, 1924 on a farm north of Avoca, Iowa, to Peter and Margretha (Olesen) Madsen, Danish immigrants who arrived in Iowa in 1909 and 1917 respectively. Evelyn attended school through eighth grade at Fairview #5 near the family homestead. She enjoyed school, was a champion speller and was advanced one full grade after being home schooled for a time following a serious injury from a fall. The Madsen family moved to Harlan in 1936 where Evelyn attended high school, graduating in 1941.
Evelyn was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith and met her husband, Wilfred Jensen, while attending church at Harlan Immanuel Lutheran Church. The couple was married in the same church on July 17, 1946 and started their life together with Wilfred�s four-year-old daughter, Joyce, on Wilfred�s parent�s farm near Walnut, Iowa. The Jensens moved several times during their married life but never far from their roots in Shelby County. Eventually their family grew to include three sons and two more daughters.
Evelyn enjoyed running the household as the family grew and proved to be an excellent cook and baker. She often had a large garden and did a lot of canning and pickling. She also sewed many of the children�s clothes. Evelyn kept very busy with family gatherings and her involvement in church and school activities and the neighborhood Social Hour Ladies Club.
The family moved for the last time in 1963, back to the neighborhood north of Kimballton, where they had resided in the 1950's. Here Wilfred and Evelyn built a new home, ran a grain farm and small cattle feeding operation and in 1967, built an automated egg laying facility.
As the children were growing and after nearly twenty-five years of marriage, Evelyn had the opportunity to take a job away from the home. On December 31, 1973, she started a position with Jorgensen Commodities Brokerage in Audubon, Iowa. She passed her Commodities Broker License exam in 1975 for which she was very proud and enjoyed working for the Jorgensen organization for over twenty-three years, retiring in February of 1997.
Wilfred had passed away in 1986 after a five-year illness. In 1998, after her retirement, Evelyn moved from the farm to a small home she purchased in Elk Horn. Her health dictated a move to the Elk Horn Retirement Home in 2000 and then to Elm Crest Health Center in Harlan where she resided until her death on December 24, 2010. She had attained the age of eighty-six years, eight months, and nine days. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and a son-in-law, Thomas Wells.
Evelyn is survived by her children: Joyce and her husband Verner Hansen of Kimballton, Iowa, Alan Jensen and his wife Maureen of Exira, Iowa, Randall Jensen and his wife Cindy of West Des Moines, Iowa, Lori Wells of Fonda, Iowa, Cindy and her husband Darrel Marshall of Urbandale, Iowa, and Richard Jensen of Mitchellville, Iowa; sixteen grandchildren; nineteen great-grandchildren; sisters: Harriet Goshorn of Harlan, Iowa and Frances and her husband Harold Ahrenholtz of Denver, Colorado; brother Raymond Madsen and his wife Marge of Fort Collins, Colorado; sister-in-law Lois Hansen of Walnut, Iowa; several nieces and nephews; other family members and friends.
Pastor Keith Menter officiated the 2:00 PM funeral service on Wednesday, December 29, 2010 at Elk Horn Lutheran Church in Elk Horn, Iowa. Serving as casket bearers were Wayne Hansen, Christopher Jensen, Kevin Hansen, Patrick Jensen, Justin Stewart, Parker Wels, Grant Wells, and Nick Jensen. Interment was held at Jacksonville Cemetery in Jacksonville, Iowa.
Memorials May Be Directed To:
Alzheimer's Association of Greater Iowa
1730 28th Street
West Des Moines, IA 50266
(515) 440-2722
www.alz.org/greateriowa
PDF Printable Version
Evelyn was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith and met her husband, Wilfred Jensen, while attending church at Harlan Immanuel Lutheran Church. The couple was married in the same church on July 17, 1946 and started their life together with Wilfred�s four-year-old daughter, Joyce, on Wilfred�s parent�s farm near Walnut, Iowa. The Jensens moved several times during their married life but never far from their roots in Shelby County. Eventually their family grew to include three sons and two more daughters.
Evelyn enjoyed running the household as the family grew and proved to be an excellent cook and baker. She often had a large garden and did a lot of canning and pickling. She also sewed many of the children�s clothes. Evelyn kept very busy with family gatherings and her involvement in church and school activities and the neighborhood Social Hour Ladies Club.
The family moved for the last time in 1963, back to the neighborhood north of Kimballton, where they had resided in the 1950's. Here Wilfred and Evelyn built a new home, ran a grain farm and small cattle feeding operation and in 1967, built an automated egg laying facility.
As the children were growing and after nearly twenty-five years of marriage, Evelyn had the opportunity to take a job away from the home. On December 31, 1973, she started a position with Jorgensen Commodities Brokerage in Audubon, Iowa. She passed her Commodities Broker License exam in 1975 for which she was very proud and enjoyed working for the Jorgensen organization for over twenty-three years, retiring in February of 1997.
Wilfred had passed away in 1986 after a five-year illness. In 1998, after her retirement, Evelyn moved from the farm to a small home she purchased in Elk Horn. Her health dictated a move to the Elk Horn Retirement Home in 2000 and then to Elm Crest Health Center in Harlan where she resided until her death on December 24, 2010. She had attained the age of eighty-six years, eight months, and nine days. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and a son-in-law, Thomas Wells.
Evelyn is survived by her children: Joyce and her husband Verner Hansen of Kimballton, Iowa, Alan Jensen and his wife Maureen of Exira, Iowa, Randall Jensen and his wife Cindy of West Des Moines, Iowa, Lori Wells of Fonda, Iowa, Cindy and her husband Darrel Marshall of Urbandale, Iowa, and Richard Jensen of Mitchellville, Iowa; sixteen grandchildren; nineteen great-grandchildren; sisters: Harriet Goshorn of Harlan, Iowa and Frances and her husband Harold Ahrenholtz of Denver, Colorado; brother Raymond Madsen and his wife Marge of Fort Collins, Colorado; sister-in-law Lois Hansen of Walnut, Iowa; several nieces and nephews; other family members and friends.
Pastor Keith Menter officiated the 2:00 PM funeral service on Wednesday, December 29, 2010 at Elk Horn Lutheran Church in Elk Horn, Iowa. Serving as casket bearers were Wayne Hansen, Christopher Jensen, Kevin Hansen, Patrick Jensen, Justin Stewart, Parker Wels, Grant Wells, and Nick Jensen. Interment was held at Jacksonville Cemetery in Jacksonville, Iowa.
Memorials May Be Directed To:
Alzheimer's Association of Greater Iowa
1730 28th Street
West Des Moines, IA 50266
(515) 440-2722
www.alz.org/greateriowa
PDF Printable Version
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Evelyn I. Jensen, please visit our flower store.