Geraldine L. Jessen

Bronson, Iowa - Geraldine LeRee Jessen, 78, of Bronson died on Friday, Dec. 6, 2013 at a Sergeant Bluff rehab center.
Services will be 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Elliot Creek Presbyterian Church in Bronson, with the Rev. Cindy Ripperger officiating. Burial will be in Westfork Township Cemetery at Climbing Hill, Iowa. Visitation will be 4 to 8 p.m. Monday, with the family present 6 to 8 p.m., and a prayer service at 7 p.m., at Morningside Chapel, Christy-Smith Funeral Home.
Geraldine was born on April 25, 1935, in Climbing Hill, Iowa. She was the daughter of Arthur and Alta Steinhauer. She was raised in the Climbing Hill area and attended school there.
On Nov. 12, 1949, she married William Jessen in Sioux City. The family lived in Bronson, Iowa. Geraldine was a full-time mom raising seven children. She also worked at IBP for a short while before going back to school to earn her G.E.D. She went on to become a C.N.A. after the age of 50. She worked at the Boys and Girls home for several years before she retired.
Besides raising her children, she was a great cook but would not share all of the ingredients for her recipes. She also enjoyed playing cards and going to Minnesota fishing and boating. She loved animals, especially her dogs. But what she loved most was being a wife, mother and grandmother. Bill died on Aug. 20, 2010 in Sioux City.
She is survived by her six children, Sheryl and Larry Lewis of Sioux City, Susie Jessen and Al Smith of Bronson, Bob and Jody Jessen of Sioux City, Patti Jessen of Bronson, Roger Jessen of Sioux City, Jennifer Jessen and Sue McCoy of Sioux City; and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband; parents; a son, Michael; and infant twin girls, Diane and Denise.