Lenice ‘Lennie’ Jensen, 87

Nov. 1, 1931 —

July 10, 2019

 

CRESCO - Lenice “Lennie” Jensen, age 87, of Cresco, Iowa passed away on Wednesday, July 10, 2019 at the Patty Elwood Center, rural Cresco. 

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, July 20, 2019 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Cresco at 11 a.m. Visitation will be held from 10-11 a.m. that day.

Lenice was born on Nov. 1, 1931 in Henry, S.D. to Harold and Delma (Bonderman) Harkin. She graduated from Morgan High School in Morgan, Minn. in 1949. 

As a young woman, Lenice started bookkeeping at the grain elevator her dad managed in Morgan. It was there that she met and later married Gene Jensen on Feb. 25, 1952. To this union, six sons were born, Randel, Michael, Ricky, Gary, Jon and Steven. For the rest of her working career, Lenice was a bookkeeper at various grain elevators including Howard County Equity in Elma, Iowa and Alta Vista, Iowa, where she later retired. 

In her spare time, Lenice loved to quilt with the women’s circle at church, sew, play cards with friends, listen to music, dance, swim, bake, complete puzzles, spend time with family and host holidays at her home. She also enjoyed watching both the Minnesota Twins and Vikings play each season. 

She had a love for the outdoors. Lenice enjoyed fishing (especially at the river in Brownsville, Minn.), working on projects for the Wildlife Club, where her husband Gene was an active member, and she had a passion for gardening and tending to her flowers. 

Lenice was artistic with a sense of adventure. She loved to draw, paint pumpkins and decorate cakes. While in her 70s she bungee-jumped at the local fair and rode large waterpark slides into her 80s.

She was an active member at the Immanuel Lutheran church in Cresco. Her devotion to her family and her firm belief in God supported her in her struggles and ultimately gave her peace. 

She played a huge role in her children’s, grandchildren’s and great-grandchildren’s lives. She was present for every game, music concert, graduation, dance recital, birthday party and holiday. She was the most selfless person and did everything that she could to help others. She left a lasting impression and touched everyone’s lives.

Lenice is survived by four sons, Ricky (Donna) Jensen of Guttenberg, Iowa, Gary (Deb) Jensen, Jon (Deb) Jensen and Steve (Melissa) Jensen, all of Cresco; a daughter-in-law, Carla Jensen of Jackson, Mo.; 14 grandchildren, Mandy, Christopher, Derek, Lenice, Caleb, Shawna, Sam, Jake, Jacob, Adam, Breannah, Nicole, Joshua and Devynn; and eight great-grandchildren. 

Lenice was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Gene; two sons, Randy and Mike; and her siblings, Dixon, Jack and Loree.