She was born on April 30, 1922, to Elmer and Ella Kresenske, in Nekoosa, Wisconsin. At an early age she moved to Stillwater, Minnesota, where she graduated from Stillwater High School, in 1940.
Soon thereafter, she fell in love with Thorkil Jensen, also of Stillwater and they were married on November 27, 1943, and they would be happily married for 71 years. Thorkil spent four years in the Army Air Force, serving in World War II. Upon returning to the States after the War, and faithfully supported by Lorraine, he earned a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Minnesota.
In 1952, Thorkil, Lorraine, and their young daughter, Charlotte, moved to the Kansas City area where Thorkil accepted what would be a 35-year research and teaching career at the University of Kansas Medical School. Lorraine and Thorkil lived out their busy lives in Overland Park, Kansas.
Throughout her years in Kansas, she was a very active member of both her church (Overland Park Lutheran Church) and various community organizations. For example, she delivered “Meals on Wheels” to the homebound in the Johnson County area, for over 40 years, come rain, snow, or the heat of summer. In her church, she was a faithful singer in the church choir, for decades, and participated in a wide range of service activities, including being a volunteer for the Kansas City Metro Area Lutheran Ministry Christmas Store and a dedicated visitor to patients at Trinity Lutheran Hospital (for which she was awarded ‘Lifetime Achievement’ recognition). In 1982, she was named ‘Volunteer of the Year,’ by the Good Samaritan Society. Three years later, in 1985, she was chosen as Volunteer of the Year, for the Kansas Health Care Association.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her stepfather Henry Brown, her sister Nora Swenberg, her eldest grandson Randall Updike II, and, most recently, by Thorkil, in 2015.
She is survived by her daughter Charlotte Updike (wife of Randall Updike), three grandchildren including Lisa Conley, Arika Hunt, and Jeffrey Updike, one niece Kris Dotson, and one nephew Bill Swenberg. She was blessed with five great grandchildren, Joanne Conley, Natalie Conley, Charlotte Conley, Annabeth Hunt, and Mathew Hunt.
She wished to express her special appreciation and love to her close friends Bette Croes and Jean Stivek, as well as her many friends at Overland Park Lutheran Church. A memorial service will be held at a later date to be announced. She will be buried beside Thorkil, at Mount Moriah Cemetery, at 10507 Holmes Road, Kansas City, Missouri. Online condolences may be given at www.mtmoriah.net and to watch for updated service information.
