Grace Ellen Jorgensen

Grace E. Jorgensen, age 94, of Newell, Iowa died Friday, January 17, 2025 at the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center in Storm Lake. Funeral services will take place Wednesday, January 22, 2025 at 10:30 a.m. at Bethel Baptist Church in Newell. Burial will be in the Newell Cemetery. Visitation will take place from 9-10:30 a.m. prior to the service at the CHURCH. In lieu of flowers a memorial fund has been established. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements. Grace was born at the family farm near Humboldt, Iowa on May 11, 1930 to parents Nels and Anna (Friberg) Petersen. She joined older siblings Mabel, Esther, Selma and Clarence. She was nine years younger than her closest sibling. They lived on a farm southwest of Humbolt and when Grace was three years old, they moved to a farm near Bradgate, Iowa. As a child she made the most important decision of her entire life, as she trusted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. This decision not only determined the course of her entire life on earth, but it also secured her eternal life in heaven. She started first grade after her fifth birthday and graduated from Bradgate High School in 1947 at the age of 17. She attended Iowa State Teacher’s College in Cedar Falls, Iowa and graduated in 1949 with her elementary education diploma. She taught fourth grade in Jewell, Iowa for two years. In 1946 she met a handsome Navy sailor at a Baptist youth rally after catching his eye. That sailor eventually became her husband. On June 15, 1951 she was united in marriage to Harold Wendell Jorgensen at the First Baptist Church in Gilmore City, Iowa. The couple resided on a farm southeast of Newell, Iowa where Harold had been farming. To this union were born Steven Harold in 1952, Paul Edward in 1955 and Marcia Kaye in 1958. They farmed near Newell until 1983 when they moved to town. After retirement they began spending winters in Alamo, Texas until Harold’s death in 1997. Grace moved to a duplex in 2000, and in 2021 she moved to Otsego Place in Storm Lake and then to Methodist Manor. Grace was a charter member of Bethel Baptist Church in Newell. She was a Sunday School teacher, a Bible study leader, a deaconess, attended Women’s Missionary Fellowship, and often served in the kitchen. She was an organist, and she sang in choir and various small groups. She loved music and it was an important part of her life. She also served along with Harold in Gideons International. After her children were grown, Grace worked at Don’s Farm Supply as an assistant bookkeeper and later as a social services designee at the Newell Good Samaritan Center. After retirement she was a regular volunteer at the Good Samaritan Center and was named Volunteer of the Year in 2007 and 2012. Her most loved volunteer service there was playing the organ weekly for rhythm band. Her greatest accomplishment, however, was managing her household and, along with Harold, raising their three children. She lived a life of serving others and her heart touched countless people during her life. Preceding her in death were husband Harold Jorgensen, parents Nels and Anna Petersen, siblings Mabel (Donald) Bowen, Esther (Howard) Hansen, Selma Seider, and Clarence Petersen, and numerous in-laws and extended family. Left to cherish her memory are children Steven (Connie) Jorgensen of Storm Lake, Iowa; Paul (Eileen Angelucci) Jorgensen of Carson City, Nevada; Marcia (Rick) Johnson of Newell, Iowa; grandchildren Justin (Kelsey) Jorgensen of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Shane (Laura) Jorgensen of Adel, Iowa; Colby (Lily) Jorgensen of West Des Moines, Iowa; Heather (Brent) Conkel of Ankeny, Iowa; Eric (Amanda) Johnson of Hudson, Wisconsin; great-grandchildren Grace, Emily and Claire Jorgensen; Jack, Amelia and Walter Jorgensen; Trevor, Ethan, Blake and Cooper Conkel; Jase, Skylar and Logyn Johnson; sisters-in-law Bonnie Petersen and Ann Jorgensen; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Grace Ellen Jorgensen

May 11, 1930 - January 17, 2025