Verna Jean Jennings

Verna Jean Jennings was born to Vern and Selma Lindholm on May 13, 1926, in Andover, Kansas. She passed away on January 18, 2025, just shy of her 99th birthday. Verna Jean was the second of four children and is survived by her older sister, Ione Toll of Lindsborg, Kansas. Her younger sister, Lenore Miller, and brother, Clement Lindholm, preceded her in death.

Verna Jean married Kenneth Reid Jennings (known as Reid to Verna Jean) on May 16 , 1948 and remained married to him until his death in 2017. Together, they raised two children, Clark Wayne Jennings and Connie Jean Nelson, in St. Joseph, Missouri. They were active members of First Lutheran Church and devoted their lives to their beliefs.

A trailblazing woman, Verna Jean held a master's degree in education and worked as an elementary teacher until her retirement. She was a well-rounded educator who particularly enjoyed exploring space with her students by building and launching rockets in the 1970s.

Following their adult children to Washington, Verna Jean and Reid settled in Gig Harbor, Washington, and continued their service by joining Peninsula Lutheran Church. Together, they helped raise their grandchildren and supported them in myriad ways. Of special concern was their developmentally disabled granddaughter.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, January 31, 2025, at Peninsula Lutheran Church at 10:30 AM, followed by a graveside service at Haven of Rest Funeral Home, Crematory, and Memorial Park, located at 8503 State Route 16 W, Gig Harbor, Washington, 98332, on Friday, 31 January 2025 at 11:30am. Guests are welcome to follow Haven of Rests' vehicle from the church, but there will be no formal procession from Peninsula Lutheran Church to Haven of Rest; those following Haven of Rests' vehicle are not to use their hazards and they are to follow all road laws. A reception will follow the service.

Verna Jean gifted her children and grandchildren with connections to the past. She spent her life diligently discovering her roots and was a proud Swede who reconnected her family's emigrants to their origins in Sweden. She and Reid made multiple trips to Sweden to accomplish this, spending many hours researching the records of ancestors kept by the Lutheran churches of Sweden. This ultimately resulted in connecting to all four of her parents' lineages with personal visits to each lineage. Verna Jean and Reid also hosted many of the Swedes who visited them in the United States. A love of Swedish rye bread, pancakes, ostkaka, lingonberries and many Swedish traditions are legacies she passed on to her family.

Memorials may be made to Group Action for Peninsula People (GAPP) of Gig Harbor, a non-profit whose mission is to enhance the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities in South Puget Sound by providing opportunities for education, employment, housing, social support, and increased community awareness. PO Box 1003, Wauna, WA 98395