Jean Menking

Dateline: Alice, Texas “A Glimpse into the Past of Jean Menking” “The strife is O’er – the victory won!” “There’s a new name in heaven, and it’s mine, oh, yes it’s mine”! so sang Jean Victoria Gold Menking as God’s angels joyously carried her into the Presence of her Creator. She was baby no. 2 of a set of twins (who brought surprise, but much joy.) to a loving set of parents, the Rev. H. C. and Wilhelmina (Knake) Gold of Nebraska City, Nebraska on Friday Aug. 13, 1926. While they were not identical twins, their names almost were – No. 1 twin was Joan Victoria Gold – No. 2 – Jean Victoria Gold the only difference being the e and the o in their first names. Sameness and differences came in the same package for twins who developed a bond that can tie them together for life. While miles may separate their actual physical togetherness (which was most of their lives from 19 years of age on). The mail and phone kept them very much in touch interspersed with an occasional in person visit now and then. As Pastors do they move from on parish to another. Nebraska was home for about 4 years, when their father was called to shepherd a “flock of needful sheep” in Lytton, Iowa which provided their elementary and high-school education for the next 12 years. While Lytton was a small rural town, 500 or so, the school had an excellent academic rating. In fact, back then (1930’s & 40’s) Iowa set the educational standard for excellence in the US. Jean was born with a thermometer and some Red Cross bandages in her hand – she Knew that Nursing was her future period! Joan- not so sure. The twins left the homestead to go to Waverly, Iowa, where a Lutheran Wartburg College welcomed them with open arms plus a little “green” back-up to help pay for incidentals like a bed, inside plumbing and a bowl of soup now and then. This was back in WWII days and being able to go to college was an exercise in scrimp and save! Being a native Texan, their father had this longing to return to God’s country “good ole’ Texas”! and come July 1945, their new mailing address was Alice, Texas USA sight unseen!! Few paved roads or streets, Hot as Hades - and no parsonage! Nor even a hook to hang their sombreros on. The family lived for a while with the neighboring Pastor in Robstown until they could move into a little frame dwelling which became the Parsonage for the new minister. There was already a garage apt. Bldg. (of sorts) on the parsonage lot which introduced these corn-fed Iowan Aliens to the beautiful local welcoming serenade of “La Cucaracha”! All Jean could think of was, “what drives a Texan Pastor Father to such lengths as this?” While also trying to remember that “all things work to the good for those who love God!!” Returning to Iowa was no option and the possibility of any Divine Intervention registered about a minus 10 on the miracle scale. But hope reigns eternal and in time, the family was living inside the tiny wooden fame parsonage on beds, eating fairly regularly, trying to become Texanized while life was having growing pains all over the place. Joan (Jean’s twin) decided to become a Registered Lab Instructor married her fiancé from Ia. and moved to Chicago where he was already working as a chemist for Abbott Labs Chicago being home for them for many years. Meanwhile, Jean (thee nurse-to-be) trotted off to the John Sealy Hospital School of Nursing in Galveston, Texas to begin a 3 year nursing Program which with the 2 years of college (in Iowa) would allow her to receive her R.N., B.S.N. degree = if her Florence Nightengale ambitions of trying to change their curriculum didn’t interfere with her chances of graduating “somewhere” in the class! She thought that being 24th in a class of 24 was better than being 25th!! But there was a surprise ending to her graduation. Several weeks after everyone had gone home, she received a letter from the Nursing Director informing her that she was not only the No.1 scholastically in her class but was selected as the best all around student. A dual honor seldom given by the School of Nursing and which remains an isolated honor given to very few. But now it’s O.K. to share that honor with her family and friends. On one of her “2 vacation home visits”, Jean met the love of her life “a soldier boy” “fresh home” from a 4 year stint in the army (WWII) a more solid Christian man not to be found anywhere love letters kept the mail man busy (remember, no phones back then) and after a 2 year engagement (while she was still in nursing training) wedding bells rang out loud and clear. The “I do’s” turned into “We will” and on a HOT Summer afternoon on Nov. 7, 1948 Alice, Texas, Jean and Alonzo Menking tied the knot that lasted till death parted them on Aug. 24 -1997- when Alonzo made his final trip “home”. For well over 3 decades, Alonzo worked as Safety Director for Heldt Bros. Trucking Co. and when he was not on his “paying” job, you could find him being a “handy man” deluxe! He loved to fix up, repair, replace, make new etc. And oh, how Jean missed that when she had to return to singlehood again. Jean was his first love no doubt- but his love for photography was only a few steps behind. His “shutterbug” talent knew no limits trying to make the next picture better than the last one. Jean helped with writing script to some of his slide presentations each complimenting the other. Be it a tiny bug or a fabulous wedding, or one of God’s indescribable sunsets the picture was forever caught by his camera. If the camera wasn’t busy, you could find him creating beautiful works of art from wood like pens and pencils, etc. And some of the inlaid work on his clocks would rank among the best. And to take off the edge of any “boredom” that “might” occur = he was as busy as a bee keeping his big “Garden of Eden” in good shape. Alonzo’s and Jean’s garden produced enough “good eatin’” for them (canning and freezing plenty for all the neighbors, their friends and even some folks who turned into friends after tasting real vegetables that didn’t come in cans!) Alonzo was great at “homemaking”, but when it came to “housekeeping” that’s when his expertise stopped! Totally!! After all isn’t that a woman’s job?? Thank goodness Jean was a “do-er” at heart loved “to-do” whatever, whenever, where-ever. Be it inside the house, outside doing yard work, at church helping with “needed-to-be-done” projects you name it. Unfortunately, she struggled with various health issues that resulted in an unrelenting fatigue which was a life-long companion. But her strong, persevering, determined, innate nature (over-laid with constant prayer and God’s intervention) found her leading a very busy, productive life. Way back in 1950, the Alice Independent School System decided they wanted to go into a “School Nurse” program. All those letters she had worked so hard to attain – RN, BSN – were just what they were looking for so Mrs. Jean Menking became the first school Nurse for the entire Alice school system teaching many classes from everyday health practices to various disease prevention and management. An immunization program for “DPT” was implemented and on many a day, one could see Nurse Menking carrying her little sterilizer from school to school, administering the “shots” and keeping records for each child. That first year saw about 10,000 injections being given. Remember, back then there were no packaged syringes or needles. Jean meticulously sterilized each syringe and needle to make sure a successful program was achieved. As the stork began to deliver “little bundles of joy” the school nurse morphed into a stay-at-home mom using her nursing skills on the home front be it family, relatives, friends, puppies and yes, even piglets! Oh, yes, her boys had a 4H project that included pig raising and like today some mamas didn’t want their wee ones and challenged every body’s patience, tolerance & sanity! And they didn’t smell any better than they do today!! While town was the birthplace for the children, Brian, Bruce and Cynthia, their formative years were lived on the outskirts of Alice. Alonzo was as much country as he was a Texan. He found a few acres with some buildings on them one resembling a house and in due time the family’s address changed form a street no. to a R.R. mailbox! The building most resembling a house was as close to “outdoor camping in a building” as you could get all tin sheet rock inside walls air between the two. Oh, what memories were created with those walls! After 13 years of endurance, the old tin shack was moved across the driveway, and a new real house was built in its place. Wow to have heat and cold in the right order the AC being the crown jewel whereby just flipping a switch one could regulate “climate change”! It felt like a piece of heaven had come to earth thank you, Lord! Should you happen to come by for some of the produce from Alonzo’s “Garden of Eden” and it happened to be bread day- you could easily find a loaf of hot, fresh baked W.W. bread on top of your produce just for good measure. Alonzo & Jean bought a big Roper stove as a wedding gift to themselves and while Jean wasn’t much of a “cake and cookie cook” that Roper can claim to have baked hundreds of loaves of bread and other yeast products over the past 70+ years. It is still in daily use and was a true-life saver back in the 2020 Deep Freeze! Thank goodness gas doesn’t freeze! Oh yes, lest we forget! When you walk through the kitchen door into a cathedral like ceiling in the living room you think that you have entered “EL GRANDE LODGE”. There are many horned faces and shoulder mounts of deer. And even the old javelina got his head on a plaque, as well as a curly horned aoudad sheep. Even the lowly coyote got his skin secured in a felt backing. And if you like you can walk on the back of an angora goat skin while looking at various bobcats lurking around. Oh yes, “we is a huntin’ family”! But the real trophy came from the deep oceans when on a gift fishing trip to Mazatlán, Mexico Alonzo was able to bring in a 180lbs. 9ft. 10in. marlin that almost broke the record way back in the 1950’s. This marlin made a majestic mount, and its beauty has never decreased throughout the years even to today. Truly a trophy to be enjoyed. Jean and Joan’s Father bought a portable Singer Sew Machine for each of them before the twins went their separate ways. And on many a day, while the bread was baking, you could be “patching blue-jeans”! Back then blue jeans with holes were not bought in stores! They were patched & transformed into “after school” work jeans. 4H animals are not very fashion oriented! To enjoy the fellowship of other like-minded seamstresses, Jean would take her machine to church and help the other “Sew & Sews” make quilts for the various charitable institutions. One of her sewing secrets was gathering clean but yet useful sheets, mattress covers, spreads, etc. from various motels mending them and taking them to the Good Samaritan Rescue Mission in Corpus Christi. Dozens of linens were saved from destruction and found good usage by the less fortunate. Efficiency, thriftiness, conservationism characterized her work ethics but definitely not miserly and didn’t interfere with her being generous to the hilt. Be truthful, be honest, “waste not, want not”, “use it up, wear it out; make it do, or do without.” All God expects is your best - he’ll do the rest. Jean must have had a sheet of music tucked away in the Red Cross bandages when she was born because besides having nursing in her genes, music was an absolute must. She was either singing in choirs (high school, college, and church) or later, played the piano and organ. Her formal “training” consisted entirely of “on the job” (like) “sit & practice”!! She’d be the first to say that timing was a big problem, she wanted to play like it felt, not like it was written. Oh for a little “book earnin”! She often said that if your congregation was singing the same hymn she was playing and they ended at the same time, all was well!! She was more than willing to play for many of the other Alician churches for funerals, weddings, or even Sun morning services or any other occasion that might need some assistance. Immanuel Lutheran was almost her second home. Was fill in for many years and then about 1988 , she became full time “organ grinder”. Many of the later services were “bi-instrumental”, she started the service with the pipe organ and then went downstairs to finish the service with the piano. There was a lean period of time when Immanuel was short on Choir Directors, so for a no. of years she filled in as choir director and accompaniment. And should there be a piece of music that had a pretty melody but only 1 verse, she had no problem with writing another verse, or 2 or 3, just to take advantage of the pretty melody. Her comment concerning that period of time was that we were all learning together and in spite of our non-professional status, we did manage to come up with an acceptable “joyful noise unto the Lord”! To help fill in the cracks in her so-called “church-work”, you might find her teaching a Sunday School class or giving a Bible Study for one of several Women’s Groups that have been part of Immanuel’s spiritual heritage for many years. And for those who enjoyed “politically correct” entertainment of the past she was always part of the whackiest, zaniest skits featured at the traditional Mother-Daughter Banquets, those heart-warming events could truly go under the phrase of being “some of the good-old days” oh, for some of that today! Writing, writing, writing, was another of Jean’s gifts which she thoroughly enjoyed. Twin sister Joan was good at numbers, and through-out her adult life she graced and challenged the art world with her beautiful oil paintings, second to none. But Jean’s writing talent was already apparent in High School by her A’s and A+’s in English and composition classes. She could take a 2-bit greeting card and by the time it was ready for a stamp, it almost became a Hallmark keepsake. Besides added decorations, there were words of wisdom, congratulations, encouragement, compassion, or whatever was appropriate for the occasion, often worked into a poetry style. Without intending it to happen, she created what her family called, “Mama’s Christmas Letter” which started in 1961 and somehow (only God knows) she managed to write a Christmas letter for the next un-interrupted 56 years. Her last one was in 2016 when her twin sister and she celebrated their 90th birthday, both being still physically able to be “up and doing”! Shy of 1 mon. Joan passed away at 92 years of age and obviously Jean has now joined her. She loved to write poetry, and her Christmas letters had all kinds of crazy poetry in them. Giving gifts for Christmas was not her thing, “Doing her Christmas Letter” and sharing a little bit of life with others, was what she considered her gift to all her family, relatives and many friends. Her poetry even carried over into her music. She wrote a song called “Jonah”, taken straight from scripture and put a tune to it. And on one Christmas, her son, Brian, went to great lengths to get it legitimately published! What a beautiful surprise! Martin Luther said that “Music was one of the finest gifts God gave to man, a pathway for the soul to return to its maker.” It is a universal language and can be understood by anyone who hears it. The old song, “Living for Jesus” was Jean’s goal and motivating factor. And if any words she wrote or music she played, favorably impacted someone’s life, she felt forever grateful to God for allowing her to utilize these gifts for so many years in a manner she prayed was pleasing to God. Her last, deep, heart-felt concern for everyone was: “the answer we will give to God’s one and only question on Judgment Day, “What did you do with my SON?!!” “There’s a new name in heaven, and it’s mine, oh, yes it’s mine!” Please make sure that your name will be there too! (Repenting at the 11th hr. is risky – you may die at 10:30!) All of our lives are heavenly and heavenly blessed! And to all those beautiful people who helped navigate this obviously God-ordained life through these many years till she reached her Creator again, you know who you are, and your reward rests in the hands of God! “The Little Regret” For all the little regrets that keep peaking around the corner, gather them up and tie them with a heart string, lay them at the feet of Jesus and with a sincere prayer for forgiveness ask Jesus to wipe the slate clean. Open up your heart and let the “Son” shine in! Grant them salvation as you deliver them from sin. May the Holy Spirit find a forever home in your heart! And from God’s mercy, grace and love may you never depart! Via con dios! Welcoming Jean “home” besides God and the angelic hosts, will be her entire family and all the many other children of God who have gone on before her. Leaving to these who now have only memories of her are Son, Brian (Ann) Menking, Alice, Texas, Daughter Cynthia (Gordon) Huyser, Tyler, Texas and Daughter-in-law Virginian (Garcia) Menking (Son Bruce – deceased – 5-15-21) Alice, Texas. Grandchildren Heidi (Ian) Brauchbier, Christopher (Erin) Menking, Aaron (Rachel) Buster, Ariana (Michael) McClellan, 8 great-grandchildren and extended family and friends. Roberson Funeral Home is in charge. In lieu of flowers, please donate in Jean's Memory to various charities selected by family and Jean 1. Lutheran Indian Ministries 2. Up Bring 3. Any Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers 4. Focus on the Family 5. American Family Association 6. Open Doors 7. Voice of the Martyrs A memorial service celebrating her life will be held on July 25th with visitation before the service at 9:30 a.m. at the church with Celebration of Life service at 10:30 a.m. at Immanuel Lutheran Church of Alice, located at 1400 N Texas Blvd, Alice, Texas. Jean will be laid to rest at Rose Lawn Cemetery, Sec A Lot 26, Space 6&7, N.E. Section.

Jean Menking

August 13, 1926 - June 19, 2026