Sallie Hamilton Jensen

Sallie Hamilton Jensen, 75, of Kansas City, Missouri, died peacefully on February 4, 2016, after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Sallie was born on July 13, 1940, in Kansas City, Missouri, to parents Gordon and Lucille Hamilton.

Sallie’s love for the arts and French culture began as a young girl when she accompanied her parents on business trips to Europe. Sallie lived and studied in France for months at a time, where she liked to par-lay some francais from time to time. She loved dogs. She would later tell her children about her beloved Honeybee. The neighborhood friends she bonded with as a child blossomed into lifelong best friends. She adored her older brothers, Gordon and Dick.

Sallie graduated from The Barstow School, attended Boston College and received a Bachelor in Fine Arts from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1996.

Sallie married Don Arlen Jensen in 1964. She liked his hardworking, Midwestern charm. While juggling the demands of being a wife and the mother of three children, Sallie volunteered as an active member of the Junior League of Kansas City, the Kansas City Art Institute Fireside Committee and was a BOTAR from the class of 1962. She enjoyed taking her children to the pool in the summertime, loved to swim, and could throw a good party. She attended Catholic mass weekly.

When her children were older, Sallie resurrected an untapped passion from her youth: painting. She converted the basement of the family home into an art studio, enrolled in art classes leading to a degree from the Kansas City Art Institute and various art shows around town. Her artwork lives on in the homes of family, friends and art lovers in Kansas City.

Sallie spent her last years at Care Haven Homes in Overland Park, a remarkable establishment for Alzheimer’s care. She was preceded in death by her husband Don, and brother Richard. She is survived by her three children, daughters Julia Jensen (Chicago), Jacqui Jensen (Kansas City) and son Peter (Diyana) Jensen (Brooklyn), granddaughter Malia, and brother Gordon Hamilton, Jr.

A visitation and funeral service will be held Tuesday, February 9, at McGilley Funeral Home, 20 Linwood, at 11:00 AM and 11:30 AM, respectively. Immediately following the service, the family invites friends to a celebration of her life at the Kansas City Country Club. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Alzheimer’s Association, Heart of America Alzheimer’s Chapter, 3846 West 75th Street, Prairie Village, KS 66208.