Jennie Virginia Banaka

Jennie Virginia (Elder) Banaka, was born on July 28th, 1928 in Lamar, NE to Joseph A. Elder and Newella A. (Corning) Elder . She entered into eternal life on September  24th, 2018 at Regent Park Nursing Home in Holyoke, CO.

 Jennie was born in Lamar, NE, the youngest of  8 children. Her parents then moved the family to Palisade, NE for a short time For Joseph’s work. They moved back to the Lamar area where Jennie attended school through the 8th grade and received her diploma from District 42, Chase County, NE  in 1942.

In 1946, Jennie was married to Harold W. Banaka in St. Francis, Ks and to this union three daughters were born. Harold and Jennie farmed and ranched in NE Yuma County . They raised corn, wheat and feed . They also had a small herd of cows. They raised their daughters here and enjoyed it when the grandkids came along and would visit or stay with them.  Jennie was known for her Gardening, Chrocheting, and of course her cooking. Many of her grandkids learned how to do these things from her and how to preserve the food from the garden in case of a bad winter.  She was a great cook and loved to have the grandkids help in the kitchen.  They also enjoyed getting together with neighbors and playing cards, especially Pitch.

Jennie and Harold sold the farm to their Grand daughter and Grandson-in-law in 2001 and moved into Holyoke. They were married for a glorious 64 years before Harold passed in Oct. of 2010. The love they shared for so many years was a blessing . Jennie moved to the Regent Park Nursing Home in July of 2016 and lived there until her passing. She will be missed by all her family.

She was preceded in Death by her Parents, Husband Harold ,  Brothers, Orville Elder (infancy), George Elder, Keith Elder, And Twins Rex and Lex Elder, Sisters , Wilma Schmidt and Agnes Mather.

She is survived by Her daughters, Virginia Rasmussen (Husband Wayne) of Wray, Co. Nancy Hartman (Husband Gary) of Henderson, NV and Connie Murdie (Husband Richard) of Gunnison, CO.  Also 1 Grandson, 6 Granddaughters , 6 Great Grandsons, 6 Great Granddaughters, and 1 Great Great Granddaughter.

The funeral service was held on Saturday, September 29, 2018 at 10:30 a.m. at Baucke Funeral Chapel and was officiated by Paul Brunner of the First United Methodist Church in Holyoke, Colorado. A private family inurnment will be at a later date. 

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