116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Obituaries
The Gazette publishes obituaries on a daily basis. Use the search field above to search for obituaries by name or keyword. Readers can submit an obituary or submit a milestone to The Gazette. The obituary must be submitted before 1 p.m. for publication on thegazette.com at 6 p.m. and in the daily edition the next day, with the exception of obituaries for Sunday publication, which must be submitted by 1 p.m. on Fridays.
Mary Lou Jensen
MARY LOU JENSEN
McGregor
Mary Lou Jensen, 75, passed away peacefully, Feb. 25, 2015, at the Great River Care Center, McGregor.
Mary Lou Jensen was born Sept. 16, 1939, at West Branch, Iowa, to Parvin Jensen and Mabel (Christensen) Jensen. In 1946, she moved with the family to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In 1972, she moved to Cherokee Village, Ark., with her parents and in 1989 they moved to Marion, Iowa. Upon the death of her mother in 2002, Mary Lou became a resident of Great River Care Center in McGregor.
While growing up, Mary Lou enjoyed family vacations with her uncle and aunt, Viggo and Anna Christensen and cousins, Wanda, Ethel Jean and Judy. Mary Lou loved her kittens, especially Angel, chocolate, the color purple, angels, puzzles, playing scrabble and bingo. She loved John Wayne movies and country music. While attending a Gene Autry concert, he came down off the stage to greet her and told her she didn't have "Buttons and Bows," but she had braids and curls.
Mary Lou is survived by her brother, Richard (Mary) Jensen of McGregor; nephews, Dr. Eric (Taylor) Jensen of San Diego, Calif., and Dr. Chris (Sherry) Jensen of McGregor; niece, Becka (Mike) Owen of Mount Vernon; stepnephew, Chad (Julie) Stamper of Bettendorf; and stepniece, Dawn (Jeremy) Farnan of Shakopee, Minn.
Mary Lou was preceded in death by her parents, Parvin and Mabel Jensen.
Mary Lou will be missed by all who knew and loved her. The family expresses their sincere thanks and appreciation to all the staff, volunteers and visitors at Great River Care Center for their kindness and loving care of Mary Lou over the last several years.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Mary Lou's Honor to the Great River Care Center for the Van Fund at the Care Center.
A private family service will be held at a later date. She will be buried next to her parents in Springdale, Iowa, near West Branch.
Condolences may be left for the family at: www.graufuneral
homes.com.
Thornburg-Grau Funeral Home and Cremation Service of McGregor, Iowa, is helping the family with arrangements.
Daily Newsletters