Jensen, Anita Beth (1962-2014)
JENSEN, SMITH, RICHARDSON, CHAVEZ
Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 2/10/2014 at 14:07:27
Anita Beth Jensen
(April 23, 1962 - January 16, 2014)On Thursday, January 16, 2014, with her loving family by her side, Anita B. Jensen, age 51, of Lake Mills, Iowa, left us peacefully at St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Shakopee, Minnesota, to join her Heavenly Father.
On April 23, 1962, Paul and Gloria Smith proudly announced the birth of their daughter, Anita Beth Smith, the youngest of six children. At the time, the family lived in Crystal, Minnesota, a northern suburb of Minneapolis.
In the summer of 1973, the family moved to Savage, Minnesota. Anita attended Savage Elementary School, Nicollet Junior High School, and Burnsville Senior High School. A happy and outgoing person, she was well-liked and had many friends.
The family loved to go fishing and camping. They traveled extensively throughout Minnesota and the western United States. Anita enjoyed all these adventures as well as snowmobiling, walks in the woods, and trips to St. Hilaire to visit Grandma Gladys.
In March of 1984, Anita married Kim Jensen. They had a small outdoor wedding in Prior Lake, Minnesota, with a reception afterwards at her parents’ home. For a short time, they lived in Prior Lake before moving to southern Minnesota and eventually settling in Scarville, Iowa. Their first son, Jesse James Jensen, was born in June of 1984. Soon after, Dustin Michael Jensen was born in December of 1985.
Anita loved animals of all kinds, but dogs had the biggest place in her heart. She always had several pets and even more animals when they lived on the farm outside of Emmons, Minnesota.
Anita enjoyed going to her brother’s cabin up north with her two boys to fish, ride the ATVs, and visit with family. Always hoping to catch the big one, she would even stay up all night fishing using nighttime, light-up bobbers.
She traveled with her friends/family to many places including Sturgis, South Dakota, as well as California, Colorado, Hawaii, and New Mexico, to name a few. In 2003, she moved to Florida where she met Ralph, her last love/companion, while working at a golf course. After the second hurricane of the season hit Punta Gorda, the two decided to move back to Iowa, where hurricanes are not a threat.
Anita loved shopping for bargains so much that nobody wanted to go shopping with her except her mother and Aunt Bonnie. They all knew they would be in for an all-day event! She would get so excited about her “good deals”¯ that she just had to share them with family and friends.
Anita enjoyed watching movies with a big bowl of buttered popcorn, a family trait passed down by her Dad. Moreover, she would spend football season in front of the TV with friends and family cheering for the Vikings. She treasured her time with those she loved, especially during the holidays. She would bring along penguin olives and her dog Kirby, all dressed for the occasion.
While listening to her favorite Shania Twain CD “Come On Over,” she would place the controls to the radio off limits for everyone until the song “Man, I Feel Like a Woman” had ended. She was a true country music fan.
Anita would celebrate Jesse’s and Dustin’s birthdays by baking their favorite cake and preparing a birthday meal to share with family, a tradition which her Mom had passed down. Beginning at the age of eighteen with Continental Machines in Savage, Minnesota, and ending at the Lake Mills Senior Center in 2012, she enjoyed a long cooking career working at several different places.
A loving daughter, mother, sister, and friend, Anita had a big heart, liked to have fun, welcomed all people, and always had a big smile. She loved her children and was so very proud of them.
Anita will be deeply missed and forever loved by her two sons, Jesse Jensen, of Lake Mills, Iowa, and Dustin (Jenny) Jensen, of Forest City, Iowa; her mother, Gloria Smith, of Prior Lake, Minnesota; her five siblings, Marcia (Sid) Richardson, of Cottage Grove, Minnesota, Monica (Derrick) Chavez, of Anaheim, California, Anthony (Cherelyn) Smith, of St. Anthony, Minnesota, Terrence (Laurel) Smith, of Savage, Minnesota, and Julie (Allen) Jensen, of Alden, Minnesota; sixteen nieces and nephews; and eighteen great-nieces and nephews; as well as by many aunts, uncles, cousins, and dear friends; not to mention her first grandchild, due in June of 2014.
She was preceded in death by her father, Paul Smith, and her grandparents.
A memorial visitation will be held on Saturday, February 1, 2014, from 12:00-4:00 PM at the Truman Helgeson Civic Center (Lake Mills Senior Citizens Center), 227 West Main Street in Lake Mills.
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