Michelle "Shelli" Jensen

February 25, 1958 - January 22, 2017

Michelle “Shelli” Jensen, 58, died Sunday, January 22, 2017 at her home in Humboldt, hand in hand with myself, her daughter and my Dad, her husband, after a long and tiring battle with cancer. We are so proud of how hard she fought. Michelle was born on February 25th, 1958 to Geraldine “Jeri” (Sanquist-Johnson) and Mervin “Stub” Junkmann. She was the oldest of three children and had two younger brothers, David Junkmann and Mark Junkmann (Kelly). The family was raised in rural Pioneer. She graduated from Gilmore City-Bradgate in 1976, GO ROCKETS! Their family farm was home to the Pioneer Saddle Club, which Mom held very close to her heart. In 1984 she married, my Dad, Gary “Jens” Jensen, her true love, who fulfilled his promise to her-- until death do them part. He was the world’s greatest husband, friend and caretaker to Mom, without a doubt. Later in 1984 she welcomed me, her “Jenna Darling” into their lives. I have been lucky to have always been Mom’s pride and joy. Camping, sports, traveling and clogging were many things we did together. Mom never once missed one of my activities. She was always there, always supportive. Mom and Dad have resided in Humboldt for the majority of their married life. Mom retired from Taft Elementary in October of 2016, where she had worked for many many years. The students, teacher and staff had given her so much strength and support over the years, they truly held a very special place. The girls at Taft, gave her a full heart, every single day. She loved seeing all of the kids, watching them grow and encouraging them to be amazing people. She took great joy, in every single kid. I was swiftly pulled out of Mom’s eye when she was blessed with two grandsons: Braxton and Gram. The joy and happiness that those two boys brought her, is truly unexplainable. She would always get excited for any visit from them. She especially loved all of the camping and traveling she got to do with Braxton. Mom was a founding member of the Knotts Landing Club, was a member of the Dames Investment Club (DICs) and more recently active in 100+ Women Humboldt County. When she wasn’t spending time with her loving family she spend many hours “junking” with her friend Cheryl or could be found at a Humboldt Wrestling meet. GO CATS! One thing that Mom never looked over, was the power of giving, on that note she has chosen to donate her body for research and education at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Doing this selfless act, she hoped that even just one person could be benefited by her doing so, maybe millions. She is survived by her husband, Gary of Humboldt and her daughter Jenna-her new son in law Nathan, grandsons Braxton and Gram all from Westby, Wisconsin as well as her brother David Junkmann of San Francisco, CA and her brother and sister in law, Mark and Kelly Junkmann of New Virginia, Iowa. Mom also cherished all of her extended family members, especially her niece Ashley, who had a very special bond. A visitation will be held at Mason Lindhart Funeral Home on Friday, January 27th from 4-8pm. The service will be Saturday, January 28th at 2pm, at Our Saviors Luther Church, where Mom was a member. Coffee and cookies to follow. In true Mom fashion, we encourage everyone to wear blue and gold, she will forever be a Wildcat. GO CATS! In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred and will be made to causes special to Mom, including a Humboldt Wrestling Scholarship in her name.