Jensen, Gwen 1922-2011

JENSEN, SEWELL, DIMICK, SMITH

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes
Date: 9/25/2014 at 11:25:52

The Grinnell (IA) Herald-Register
Jan. 27, 2011

GWEN DENSEN

Gwen Jensen, 88, of Grinnell died Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011, at Mayflower Health Care Center.

A funeral service will be held Friday, Jan. 28, 2011, at 2 p.m. at Grinnell United Methodist Church with the Rev. Len Eberhart, pastor of the church, officiating. Organist will be Kathleen Heffner and pianist will be Kathy O'Connor. Casket bearers will be Geoff Jensen, Whitney Jensen, Angie Jensen, Trevor Jensen, Kelsey Jensen, Alissa Jensen, Cody Jensen, Grant Smith, Alex Smith and Lauren Smith.

Private family interment will be held at Hazelwood Cemetery.

Friends may call at Smith Funeral Home Thursday beginning at noon with family members present from 5 to 7 p.m. Memorials may be made to Grinnell United Methodist Church or to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

She was born June 17, 1922, on a farm near Exira, the daughter of Clyde and Pearl Sewell Dimick. She was raised in Audubon, graduating from Audubon High School with the class of 1940. As a high school student she had played clarinet in the marching and concert bands. Following high school she attended Simpson College in Indianola, pledging Pi Beta Phi sorority. During World War II, she took a leave of absence from college and worked in the recorder's office in Audubon and Saturdays at Kraft men's clothing store. She resumed her college career after the war, receiving the Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and sociology. Following her graduation from Simpson College, she was employed as a secretary in the Selective Service office and in the recorder's office in Audubon. She was united in marriage with Earl J. Jensen on Oct. 1, 1950, in Audubon. The couple moved to Grinnell where they owned and operated Jensen Optometry.

She was a member of P.E.O. and T.T.T.

She is survived by her sons, and daughter, Dr. Clark Jensen, Carol Smith and Tracy Jensen, all of Grinnell, and Dr. Scott Jensen of Tyrone, Ga.; and ten grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband and her parents.