Jeanne D. Jensen

MASON CITY Jeanne (Davis) Jensen, 83, of Mason City, died Friday, October 23, 2009, at the Good Shepherd Health Center. A Celebration of her life will be held at 10:30 AM on Tuesday (October 27, 2009) at Trinity Lutheran Church, 213 N. Pennsylvania, with Pastor Kathy Graves officiating. Friends are asked to come and share memories with the family and each other. There will be no visitation as Jeannes body was donated to the University of Iowa Medical School at her request. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, 20 Roszel Road, Princeton, NJ 08540-9983 (for the production of text books for visually impaired students attending college)\r\n
Jeanne was born on December 14, 1925, in Clear Lake, IA, the daughter of Robert and Doris (Callanan) Davis. She graduated from Clear Lake High School in 1943. She also graduated from Wartburg College in 1980 and the University of Iowa in 1982. She married Robert E. Jensen on June 20, 1946 in Clear Lake. She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, where she helped with the Ladies Groups. \r\n
She worked on a Lutheran Braille team producing Christian literature for overseas missions. She served a president of the North Iowa Alliance for the Mentally Ill, helped organize a social club for the mentally ill and was coordinator of the professional and lay volunteers who staffed it. She was also part of first Hospice team in Mason City. \r\n
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Jeanne was also deeply involved in religious activities. On the national level she served on an Inter-Lutheran Consortium on Outdoor Ministries, on a Lutheran Family Policy Committee, on a 6 member Advisory Board to the Lutheran Church Womens staff for 6 years and was one of 6 women consultants for a Lutheran church statement on Human Sexuality.\r\n
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On the state level she served on a 7 member team trained by national staff to teach new Parish Education curriculum to Iowa church school teachers. She served as Womens Education Secretary for Iowa for 6 years, Conference Education Secretary for 7 years and as Conference Secretary for Alaska and Mexico Missions for 2 years. \r\n
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She conducted 4 week studies to Lutheran Churches in the area for the Iowa Lutheran Bishops Project on Peace and Reconciliation and served as Mission Interpreter and Stewardship Interpreter to area churches for the NE Iowa Synod for 3 years, and was a fund-raiser in area churches for Bremwood Youth Home in Waverly. \r\n
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Jeanne received the Angel Award for service to the Oikoumene Religious Center (OK House), the NIACC Campus Ministry, having served on the Board and as Board Chair for 5 years, then continuing to serve with her husband on the fundraising and maintenance committee. Locally, Jensen served as President of Church Women United, Vice-Chair of the Mason City Council of Churches and as team leader for Faith at Work conferences in Iowa and Minnesota and was a member of an ecumenical prayer group.\r\n
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As a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, she taught the Bethel Bible Studies series to Adults, she was womens Bible study leader for many years, taught a high school class, was a confirmation catechist and Vacation Bible School teacher. She also taught Sunday school at home to a confirmand with a disability. She was president of Trinity Lutheran Church Women and lifetime members of that organization and various circles, member of Trinitys Social ministry Board, worked with Trinitys refugee sponsorship of two families, and a member of Trinitys Prayer Chain. She was Trinitys delegate to the Iowa Governors Volunteer Workshop, its representative to Waldorf College for 6 years, a volunteer at Good Shepherd and Community Kitchen and a Stewardship Caller. \r\n
Jeanne is survived by her husband of 63 years: Robert Jensen; one daughter: Jean Ann Cadman and husband Craig of Sioux Rapids, IA; one son: Joel Jensen of Ely, NV; and one grandchild. She is also survived by many cousins. \r\n
She was preceded in death by her parents.