Elsie "Jenny" Genevieve Luallen

Elsie Genevieve (Jenny) Luallen died on August 30, 2019 from complications resulting from congestive heart failure. She was 84 years old. Jenny was born on June 2, 1935 in Clinton, Illinois to William Anderson Hale and Viola Emmeline (Odie) Hale, neé Evans. She was predeceased by siblings William Hale and Nancy Hale Ashcraft.

Jenny was Valedictorian of her graduating class at Maroa High School, in Maroa, Illinois, in 1953. She went on to graduate from Macon County Hospital Nursing School as a Registered Nurse in 1956. She had briefly considered a career as a nurse in the U.S. Navy but chose instead to marry her high school sweetheart, James Edward Luallen. They married on October 15, 1955 and remained married until her death, almost 64 years. Jenny and Jim had four children and eventually moved their family to Fort Collins, Colorado in 1968. Jenny continued her nursing career in Colorado, spending 20 years at Poudre Valley Hospital, serving as Head Nurse of the Medical Unit and then Assistant Director/Director of Nursing Education. She pursued and received her BSN at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley in 1981. She went on to receive a Master’s Degree in Adult Education from Colorado State University. She would continue working in nursing in Florida and ultimately retire from professional nursing as the Public Health Nurse for Carbon County, Wyoming.

In addition to nursing, the most abiding passion in Jenny’s life was her family. She and Jim ultimately enjoyed their four children, five grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Jenny loved planning and hosting family gatherings and get-togethers. She relished being an active part of the lives of all of her grandkids. She was an avid reader, and she and Jim enjoyed traveling the United States, much of Europe, and on a variety of cruises. Her spiritual life was also a priority; she remained active in the United Methodist Church all of her life, and she and Jim left a lasting legacy in Castle Rock, Colorado by founding and nurturing the local Stephen Ministry outreach.

Jenny is survived by her husband, James Luallen; her children, Betsy Graves (Tom), Jim Luallen (Karen), Becky Walker (Mike), and Susan Hanna (Rob); her grandchildren, Whitney Gabbert (Jason), Nathan Luallen (Kelsey), Wilson Luallen, Fergus Walker, and Ryan Walker; and her four great-grandchildren, Bryce and Connor Gabbert and Ethan and Evan Luallen.

The family is hosting a memorial service Saturday, September 7 at 10:30 a.m. at Trinity Methodist Church in Loveland, CO. In lieu of flowers, donations are encouraged to either the Alzheimer’s Association at act.alz.org/donate, or Pathways Hospice at pathways-care.org.