Obituary for Betty Jane Jensen
July 26, 1930 – March 13, 2023
Betty Jane Jensen, 92, of Racine, passed away on March 13, 2023, at The Villa at Lincoln Park, where she was staying for rehab following hip surgery. The last year of her life she was living at Kenosha Place Assisted Living and Memory Care.
Betty was born in Racine on July 26, 1930, to Einer and Marion (née Hansen) Andersen. She was united in marriage to Kenneth A. Jensen in Racine at Gethsemane Evangelical Lutheran Church on Sept. 9, 1950.
Betty was employed as a senior center director at Gethsemane Lutheran Church, retiring in 2015. She worked at Goldblatt’s Department Store as a sales associate. In addition to taking care of her children, she also did in-home daycare. She was a cake decorator and store clerk at Taylor Avenue Bakery which her parents owned. Betty and Kenny also fostered newborns until adoption.
Betty was a member of Gethsemane Evangelical Lutheran Church. She had been active with the Women’s Guild and as a Sunday School teacher. Betty was also a member of the Kilties Parents Club. She was an avid reader and especially liked romance and Westerns. She knitted lots of baby sweaters, bonnets, mittens, slippers, and scarves. She liked to cook and bake, and pumpkin bread was one of her specialties. When Betty gave you a Tupperware container of treats, it would always be marked with red nail polish, so you knew where to return it!
She loved to swim and still had a pool in her backyard long after the kids were grown. In her younger days, she loved to bike. She told stories of riding with her sisters and cousin Pat to Eagle Lake where her grandparents had a farm. Kenny and Betty liked to roller skate and when the kids came, we all went. As a family, we vacationed “Up North.” She never liked fish but fried up a lot of them for her family. She liked to keep in contact with her family and friends with cards, phone calls, and now, FaceTime.
Betty will be lovingly remembered for her unconditional love, sense of humor, and breaking into song at a moment’s notice! She had four children: Kent Jensen (LuAnn McBride), Kevin Jensen (Karen Wimmler), Kimberly Jensen (David Jensen), and Kaj-Michael Jensen (Mary Jensen); grandchildren: Karla (Jacob Flesberg), Kyle Jensen, Kassidy Jensen, and Lars Jensen; great-grandchildren: Jase Flesberg, Kenna Flesberg, and another due in April 2023; siblings: Beverly Jandl, Barbara Greco, James Andersen, and Bonnie Burns; and many nieces, nephews, and friends.
Betty was preceded in death by her parents; daughter-in-law, Mary Maldonado; and the love of her life, Kenneth A. Jensen. She was looking forward to snuggling up to him again.
Services
Per Betty’s request, there will be no funeral, but a celebration of life will be held Saturday, July 29, at Petrified Springs Park, shelter #5.
To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Betty Jane Jensen please visit the Wilson Funeral Home Sympathy Store.
Obituary and photo courtesy of Wilson Funeral Home.
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