Geniece Jensen

Geniece Jensen died of natural causes, after a short illness on June 16th.
I was born to David and Naomi Keppel on July 3, 1931 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. My mother passed away with lung tuberculosis when I was three months old. My father took me and my maternal grandmother, Margaret Richards, to Portland, Oregon. We resided there for 15 years.
I went to Franklin High School. When Pearl Harbor was bombed, December 7, 1941, my father joined the Marines the day after. He was stationed in Spokane, Washington.
When my grandmother passed away in 1948, and I graduated from high school, I went to live with my father and my step mother, Eileen and my 4 year old half-brother, Robert Keppel.
Gordon came to Spokane from Canada about the same time I got there. He and I were married there on March 17, 1951. At 21 years old, after Steve was born, I was baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
During our years in Spokane, I taught several different classes including Sunday School, Primary, and Bee Hive class for teenage girls. Through prayer and blessings from the Lord through the Priesthood, I recovered from two major surgeries. All of our children have been baptized in the LDS church.
Gordon worked in Spokane as a plumber for ten years for Peck and Gale Plumbing and Heating. We gave birth to five children during that time. Gordon Steven (Becky), Kenneth Wayne (who passed away at 2 weeks old), David Lee, Deanna Jeanne (LeRoy) and Sherri Louise (Craig). We have 8 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren. Then we moved to Missoula Montana where we bought a small plumbing business from Pete and Helen Lembke. We named our business 4G Plumbing and Heating. Gordon and I ran the business alone for 7 years. Then as it grew and we needed help, Norman Carey came into our lives. He and Gordon built a large shop on Russell Street. I got to design and work in the bath boutique. It was a blessing for me as I always felt I was an interior decorator at heart. My only other hobby was ceramics, which I worked at for over 50 years.
We then bought some property at Holter Lake. Gordon, our children, Gordon’s parents (Melvin and Ida Jensen) and I did the largest portion of building a cabin over a period of about 9 years. Today, it is given as inheritance to our children. We feel we had a wonderful and progressive life together and enjoyed our loyalty and devotion to each other, our children and Gordon’s parents.
I am proceeded in death by my parents David Keppel, mother Naomi Richards Keppel, husband Gordon Jensen, son Kenneth Wayne Jensen, and son David Lee Jensen, and son-in-law, LeRoy Graham. My surviving family is son G. Steven Jensen, daughters Deanna Jeanne Jensen-Graham and Sherri LouiseTrahan.
My son, Steve, asked me to write this obituary. I thank him for giving me the opportunity to tell my story.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, June 24th, at the LDS Church at 3026 South Ave W. Viewing at 10:00 a.m., service at 11:00 a.m., luncheon at the church and interment at Sunset Memorial Gardens to follow. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the American Cancer Society. Condolences can be left for the family at www.gardencityfh.com.