Joan Lee Jenks
Joan Lee Jenks, born on December 6th, 1933, in Fortuna, California passed away peacefully on Sunday night, January 5th, 2025 at the age of 91. Joanie, as she was affectionately known, always exhibited a generous nature and was always willing to roll up her sleeves for the betterment of the world around her.
Joanie was a graduate of Eagle Point High School in Oregon where she met and married her high school sweetheart Bert Jenks on December 29, 1950. They had just recently celebrated 74 wonderful years of marriage that took them all over the world and saw the creation of a beautiful family and legacy.
The Air Force was the first part of that journey where she experienced 23 years of helping serve her country in areas that often go unnoticed. She was awarded the Air Training Command’s Volunteer of the Year award for her tireless efforts within the Family Services office where she provided tools for numerous families learning to adapt to the unique demands of military life. Joanie was also active within the Officer’s Wives Club and the local Little League where she tirelessly volunteered her free time. Joanie was a gracious, charming, and loving wife, mother, and friend. She never faltered in being a positive role model to all and believed that service and kindness guided her through life.
After over two decades of service in the Air Force, Joanie and Bert settled down on Sanibel Island where they have blissfully lived for over 50 years. Joanie’s dedication to humanity did not end with this new phase in life. Saint Isabel Catholic Church was the lucky recipient of Joanie’s volunteer nature, where she was a faithful member, a Eucharist minister, and a founding member of the Isabel’s Woman’s Guild. Professionally, Joanie set out and earned her real estate license in 1981 and together, she and Bert successfully created real estate ventures in Sanibel, Lee County, and Colorado. Her favorite was running Waterside Inn on the Beach where she truly flourished with her joy of hospitality and hosting the Friday night sunset beach parties for her guests. The ocean was her joy and she enjoyed every minute in the sun.
Family was the keystone of Joanie’s life and she was blessed to have raised two wonderful children, Rick and Debbie. Five grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren have also been added to the family legacy. She is also missed by her stepbrother, Bob Parcells, of LaBelle, FL. Her home was always open to her family, and she never missed an opportunity to plan a Christmas in the Colorado mountains or look for that elusive junonia on a Sanibel beach with any family member that could keep up with her. Joanie left this world surrounded by people who loved her and left everyone she knew with a memory of her big heart and good deeds.
The viewing and Catholic Mass will be at 11:00am on January 25th, 2025 at St. Isabel’s Catholic Church on Sanibel led by Father Edward Martin.