Behind the scenes with the Gordon and Marian Jensen memoir

By Kurt Johnson

 

Gordon and Marian Jensen lived their lives filled with faith in God. There were successes and there were challenges, and through it all there was a devotion to family and to that faith.

I was privileged over a six-month period to work with Allyson Egbert, one of Gordon and Marian’s three daughters, on her labor of love. The end result was a 168-page Rememberize photobiography that shares her parents story in text and photos, along with more than 20 audio and video links. The book is a treasure for the Jensen family and it was my honor to be allowed to help them share it.

 

Allyson and her sisters, Susan and Rebecca Elisabeth, gathered the writings of their parents and grandparents, and collected them, along with their own memories, to prepare this book. It begins with a look back at the families in which Marian and Gordon were raised and carries on through the lives of the Jensen grandchildren.

Marian is the daughter of Ernest L. and Alice Ludlow Wilkinson, so her story includes memories of the family’s association with Brigham Young University from her father’s time as president of the university along with other writings by, and about, the Wilkinson and Ludlow families.

Gordon’s story includes a historical look at the Jensen and Farr families. His father, George Fred Jensen, was born in Mt. Pleasant, Utah, where his father was, at the time, a farmer and sheep herder. Christian Joseph Jensen later earned a degree from BYU and spent most of his career in education. George was an architect.

Gordon’s mother, Verna Farr Jensen, was from a prominent Ogden family. Among the stories in the book is a little-known story about a dream in which President George Albert Smith saw Lorin Farr, Verna’s grandfather.

 

This volume is filled with memories from the lives of Gordon and Marian, experiences they had with friends and family. It includes journal entries from each of them, as they share what they learned through a long life together, in California, Utah, and even in Europe. It includes loving memories about their daughters and mostly, it is a collection of testimonies about their love for Jesus Christ and his gospel.

It was a powerful experience for me, as an editor and project manager on this particular book, to feel the love of these daughters for their parents as they shared these stories of a lifetime. Each time I am involved with one of these books, I feel blessed to have learned so much about the people with whom I am blessed to work and this one brought to reality years of work for the Jensen sisters.

Small World

A little side note from the “small world” department: While working with Allyson to compile this volume, we discovered two connections between me and her family. For a number of years when I was in my youth, our family had a tradition of alternating Thanksgiving visits with my dad’s cousin, Bill Murri, and his family. We lived in Roseville, California, in the Sacramento area, and the Murris lived in Sunnyvale, in the Bay Area. As it turns out, Gordon Jensen was the bishop of the ward in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in which the Murris lived. There’s even a photo in the book of my aunt and a couple of my cousins. Additionally, Allyson’s husband, Martin Egbert, served as a missionary for the Church in my hometown.

Amazing discoveries come when we research and write our histories. If you are looking for something to do with your extra time at home, we have a few suggestions. A good place to start is with writing the stories of your life. Need a little help or a little push, give us a call (801-337-9573) at Rememberize, and we’ll talk with you about how we can help you get started.