Vedana Blonquist Jensen, 72, of Sandy, Utah passed into God\s hands August 24, 2013. She was a dedicated wife, loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Vedana was born on February 22, 1941, in Rock Springs, WY to Blaine and Eleanor Blonquist. She spent most of her childhood growing up in Cheyenne, WY with her parents and three brothers. The summer after graduating from high school, she was chosen as Miss Cheyenne and runner-up Miss Wyoming at the age of 18. That fall, she attended Brigham Young University in Provo, UT for a time until she met her sweetheart and love of her life, Samuel Richard Jensen. They were married on December 17, 1959 in the Salt Lake City Temple.
During their 53 year marriage, they made their home in many places including: Salt Lake City, UT, Albuquerque, NM, Idaho Falls, ID, Elkhorn, NE, and Sandy, UT. Together they raised seven children. Vedana was a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She exemplified the motto, "Charity Never Faileth," and served valiantly in her many callings throughout her life. Vedana was a fantastic homemaker and felt it an honor as well as a sacred calling to be one. She was very organized. One of her many gifts was her ability to create order and beauty from chaos. She enjoyed making her home a place of beauty, and it was. She was a wonderful cook and seamstress, and also enjoyed gardening, floral arranging, reading, art, music, and watching old movies. She had a beautiful smile and contagious laugh. Over the past 15 years, she developed a great passion for family history work and spent countless hours not only researching her own, but also teaching others how to research their genealogy. Her best quality, however, was her ability to connect with her children and grandchildren. She loved spending time with them and was very involved in their lives, making them all feel special. She cared deeply for each one and prayed for them daily. Vedana served others all the days of her life and was an answer to many prayers.
She is survived by her husband, Samuel R. Jensen, her loving mother, Eleanor Blonquist Crowther, her seven children, S. Richard (Maralee), Lorin (Sue), Nathan (Gania) Jensen, Deborah (Grant) Hildreth, Holly (Greg) Holbrook, Melissa (Ryan) Warren and Steve (Leslie) Rife and her brothers, Lawrence (Sharon), James (Martha) and Noel (Ursula) Blonquist. She also leaves behind 42 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her father, Blaine Blonquist, her daughter-in-law, Amy (Fraughton) Jensen and granddaughter, Samantha Swasey.
The family would like to express their appreciation to Millcreek Home and Hospice and especially her nurse Lisa and CNA Sandra for their loving kindness. They would also like to thank all the other family and friends for the many hours of service shown to Vedana to make her last days comfortable.
Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, August 28, 2013 at 11 am at the LDS Church at 915 E. 9045 S. Sandy, UT. A viewing will be held Tuesday evening, August 27, from 6-8 pm at Larkin Sunset Gardens, 1950 East Dimple Dell Road (10600 South), Sandy, UT. A viewing will also be held prior to the funeral from 9:30 -10:30am prior to the services at the church. Internment will be held at Larkin Sunset Gardens. Memories and condolences may be sent to the family www.larkincares.com.
In lieu of flowers, please give donations to the General Missionary Fund of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
