Lillian Helene Hensley

Lillian was the youngest of seven children born to Carl and Maida Vertner. Born in Jacksonville, Oregon on September 30, 1928, she was a child of the depression and grew up amid hard times. The family moved and followed the harvest along the West coast during Lillian's early years, finally settling in Barlow, Oregon. I remember her talking shortly after my Aunt Margie died; she and Margie "walking the aisle" at a tent revival in the late thirties. Lillian went to Balrlow Grade School and graduated from Canby High School in 1947. Upon graduation, she went to work for AJ Aircraft in Portland. She met and married Joe Hensley in the Spring of 1949. In 1957 she started working for Tektronix at the Sunset plant. She worked for Tektronix for 33 years retiring in 1989 as an assembly technician. After retiring from Tektronix, she worked another 10 years for Credo Corp. in Woodburn. Momma was a simple, quiet person and rather shy. She wasn't much on reading and always said she didn't read well, but Priscilla turned her on to reading a few years ago. She liked Agatha Christie and the "Cat Who" books. As an outcome of this, she spent time trying to understand what the Lord wanted of her by reading and studying her Bible. She read the chapters on the 10 Commandments and the Lord's Prayer. She studied the Book of Daniel and Jacob's Dream in the Old Testament and the death of John the Baptist in the New. She joined my Ladies Sunday School class a couple of years ago when we were studying the minor prophets. She didn't say much but her insights were worth waiting for. Shortly before she became too ill to attend, we started a study on the Beatitudes. One of the questions in the study asked "How does God's presence bring us joy and hope in the midst of life's stuggles?" her answer: "When we understand and obey God and put ourselves in His hands we trust He will be there." She loved the outdoors and enjoyed camping, hiking, and horseback riding with her family. She belonged to the Mazama Mountain Climbing Club in the late fifties/early sixties. She traveled visiting the states, enjoyed trips to Disneyland and Alaska, visiting friends in Arizona and went whitewater rafting down the Snake River. Later in life, she loved working in her garden growing vegetables for the family and flowers for fun. She has passed on that love of the outdoors to her children and grandchildren. Momma, Priscilla and I did puzzles Sunday afternoons. We would sit and "kibitz" what Jack was watching on TV. She and I enjoyed sharing word games and she loved sitting and listening to Cameron sing. She loved taking part in the quilters. She loved the Psalms, especially the 23rd and the "Beatitudes. Her delight was to know God and trust in Him. Lillian lost her son in 1965 and her husband in 1972. She went to be with the Lord on October 19, 2013. She is survived by her daughters: Priscilla, Jodeen, and Laurie. Her grandchildren: Jason, Cameron, Kristy, Karen, and Kelly. Her great-grandchildren; Autumn and Nick.