Juanita Dee Jekel

Juanita Dee Jekel came into this world on February 16, 1945 and left us on April 23, 2019. Juanita was born in Bellingham WA. She married her best friend and love of her life Thomas Jekel, on June 1, 1970, in Long Beach CA. Juanita is survived by her husband Thomas Jekel. Children: Lois Buderus (Corey), Paul Clark (Deanna) and Shirley Dimick (Kurt). Nephew: Louis Espinoza (Selena). Grandchildren: Beth Welsh (Josh), Amanda Clark, Ren Frank, Michael Carder (Jessica), Hayden Clark and Mariah Choury. Great-grandchildren: Faith, Lane, Connor, Tristen, Kaden and Logan. Juanita is preceded in death by her father Henry James, mother Pauline Farley, sister Janet Elaine Espinoza, grandson Tyler Joseph Choury and great-granddaughter Trinity Blessing Welsh. Tom and Juanita would have celebrated 49 years of marriage this year. Their years together were filled with love and blessings. The two of them loved to travel and took many vacations with family. Juanita loved to fish and camp. Those of you who have ever been to Tom and Juanita’s home during the holidays, any holiday, knew how much she loved to decorate. She loved ALL the holidays, with Christmas being her favorite, she even decorated the bathrooms. Some of the other loves she had were shopping and browsing, especially for red kitchen appliances and gadgets. She loved to iron, she ironed everything, including pillowcases. She loved her Raiders, no matter what, good or bad. She enjoyed playing Rummy with friends and family, Black Hawk, Bingo, scratch tickets and bright flowers. Juanita was loving, funny, giving, sassy and ornery. Juanita loved life. She loved Tom, her best friend, her children, her grand-children more and her great-grandchildren even more. Her passing has left a huge whole in all our lives. She expected us to be strong and take care of each other. We will do exactly that. We learned how from her! A Family Celebration of Life for Juanita will be held on Mothers Day.