Virginia Dean Jensen

Our beloved mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, Virginia Dean Jensen, of Kansas City, Missouri, passed away peacefully at NorthCare Hospice House in North Kansas City, Missouri, just after midnight, on May 20th, at the advanced age of 97 after a short illness.

Ginnie, as she liked to be called by friends, was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on October 9th, 1923, as Virginia Dean Hackathorn. She was the eldest daughter of Earnest Lee Hackathorn born in Appanoose, Iowa, in 1888, and Eunice Dean King Hackathorn, born in Ray County, Missouri, in 1896.

Ginnie is preceded in death by her husband of over 50 years, Harry Taylor Jensen, Sr, and her younger sister, Rosemary England Brewer. She is survived by her four children and their respective spouses: Marsha (& Lawrence) Bernhardt of Rushford, Minnesota; Edith Westerod of Gothenburg, Sweden; Harry T Jensen, Jr, of Kansas City, Missouri; and Albert (& Amy) Jensen of Independence, Missouri.

She is survived by her eight grandchildren and their respective spouses, as well as 16 of her 17 great grandchildren.

Ginnie studied fashion illustration at Manual High School in Kansas City, Missouri. With her blue eyes, dark wavy hair, and big smile, Ginnie caught the eye of a handsome young man, Harry Taylor Jensen. A few months after meeting, they eloped on a double date and were married in the middle of the night by a sleepy preacher in Liberty, Missouri. Harry had taken a silver quarter and fashioned it into a ring the size of a nickel as a wedding band. It was 1942 and there was a war in Europe. It wasn’t long before Harry, as a new father in 1943, was drafted into the US Army Infantry and sent to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and then went off to war. Ginnie took care of their daughter, Marsha, while Harry served in the military and fought at the Battle of the Bulge, where he was eventually captured by the German Army and spent several months in a prisoner of war camp. After the war Harry and Ginnie settled in the Ozarks before moving back to the Kansas City area in 1956.

Somewhere around 1962 Ginnie started working at the Sears Roebuck Department Store on East 15th St in Kansas City. Towards the end of her career she moved to the Sears store in the Antioch mall in Kansas City north, where she worked as a sales associate in the children’s clothing department until she retired.

One of Ginnie’s dearest possessions in later life was her electric blue PT Cruiser convertible with white leather seats that she drove until she was over 90. She would wave at people as she drove by with the top down with Rosie, her toy fox terrier, looking out the window. We thought she was the coolest mom, grandma, and great grandma there was.

Ginnie enjoyed watching Family Feud with Steve Harvey every weekday afternoon. She also had a special place in her heart for Walmart. Any city she went to she would stop at a Walmart, where she would cruise the aisles on an electric shopping cart.

Grandma is remembered by her grandchildren for her spontaneous, generous, kind, and loving spirit. Once she and grandpa drove for eight hours all the way from Kansas City to Minneapolis at the last minute so they could be their granddaughter’s special guests at Sunday school. Grandma always knew just the right gift to give. One time grandma even brought a box of turtles for her grandson to play with during one summer and how he got a .22 rifle from her at the age of 12. Grandma always gave her grandkids Easter baskets, even when they were in their teens.

Ginnie was a devout Christian who enjoyed reading the Bible and listening to Christian music. She attended Eagle Heights Baptist Church until her health began to fail. She gave generously to her church as well as to the VFW Auxiliary and Operation Smile, which helped children around the world receive cleft lip surgery.

We would like to give special thanks to the caregivers at NorthCare Hospice House who cared for and comforted our dear mother in her final days. We also want to thank White Chapel Funeral Home for the professional assistance they provided us after our mother’s passing. It is greatly appreciated.

Services will be held by White Chapel Funeral Home on the premises of McGilley Antioch Chapel, 3325 NE Vivion Rd, Kansas City, Missouri, at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, June 1st, 2021. A committal service will be held prior to burial at a chapel at Leavenworth National Cemetery before interment. Guests who wish to attend the committal service need to arrive at the main gate of Leavenworth National Cemetery no later than 12:15 PM.