Our beloved and devoted mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Jacqueline Hunsaker Walkenhorst, known to all as Jackie, passed away peacefully at age 89, on May 23, 2019 at her residence in Draper, Utah. She was born on April 28, 1930, in Salt Lake City, Utah to Reuel Weldon and Zilpha Cox Hunsaker.
She graduated from West High School and later met her eternal companion, Wilford Charles Walkenhorst at an LDS roadshow activity. They were married in the Salt Lake LDS Temple on June 9, 1949, beginning a 51-year marriage of love and devotion. They enjoyed many happy years together and made memorable family events a priority. They enjoyed a beach house in Balboa and family reunions in Lava Hot Springs and Island Park, Idaho.
Jackie attended the University of Utah. She had an active social life and served as the Ski Club President. Professionally she worked at Huish Distributing and at Utah Employment Security where she cherished many friendships.
The crowning achievement of her life was as a mother and matriarch - raising six children and enjoying 15 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren. She taught her posterity to love and serve through her example. Jackie was the heart and soul of her family. She showed her love by supporting every endeavor her husband and children pursued. She always welcomed family and friends to a home filled with warmth and her trademark hospitality. She loved to organize family parties and made every occasion a celebration. Her efforts created close family bonds that will be her legacy. Her family remembers there was "beauty all around" because there was "love at home" with Jackie.
Jackie's exuberance for life showed in her dedication to the gospel of Jesus Christ. She lived its principles and shared her strong and unwavering testimony often. She loved serving as Ward Chorister and Choir Director and produced the highly anticipated Christmas programs. She showed her Christlike love to every child she worked with, making each child feel loved and accepted and went out of her way to reach those who may have felt excluded. She also loved her time serving in the Draper Temple.
Jackie was a beautiful and elegant woman with a refined sense of style. She was always kind and thoughtful to others. She was loving, patient, unselfish, forgiving, and a treasured friend to those who knew and loved her. She made friends wherever she went and had a way of making you feel you were the most important person in the world. Jackie was able to lighten the mood in any situation with her stories, warm smile and engaging laugh. She loved to dress for every event as if it was a grand occasion and did not want to miss out on any conversation or gathering.
Jackie is survived by her four sons and two daughters, Gregory (Janine), Pleasant Grove; Melanie (Brad) Fitch, Draper; Tamara, Draper; Kyle (RJ), Los Angeles; Kevin (Sherri), Alpine; and Darrin (Cynthia), Salt Lake City and a large extended family.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Wilford; father and mother, Reuel and Zilpha; brother, Weldon (Pauline); and sister, Bonnie (Kelsey) Shoemaker.
The family wishes to thank the caregivers at Ashford Assisted Living and Legacy Senior Living, and a special thanks to Larkin Mortuary and the Draper 17th Ward for the funeral services.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, June 1, 2019 in the Draper 17thWard building, 1617 East 12700 South Draper, UT. Family and friends are invited to greet the family during a viewing on Friday evening from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at Larkin Sunset Gardens, 1950 East Dimple Dell Rd. (10600 South), in Sandy and again on Saturday morning from 9:30 to 10:30 am prior to the services at the church. Interment to follow at Larkin Sunset Gardens Cemetery.
