Mary Juanita “Nita” Jensen - June 2, 1921 - Feb. 26, 2024
Once you work as a Dime-A-Dance girl you know shoes! Never destined to stay on the farm, Nita took that love of shoes, wrapped it up with a city girl flair for fashion and danced her way through 102 years of adventure (with a couple spots of misadventure thrown in just to keep life interesting). Born in Augusta, Kan. in 1921, the first of six kids, Nita grabbed her high school diploma, packed up and headed west, where she worked as a Dime-A-Dance girl near the Mare Island Naval Base in Northern California. There she met and married a handsome naval officer, William Intinarelli and gave birth to son Gary.
Nita was fiercely independent and no longer married so she struck out to move forward and make a new life. Never afraid of working, she starred (yes, she was a star...always the best-dressed, most motivated, and definitely the spiciest woman in the room!) in a series of jobs in different career fields. Now a gutsy young adventurer of the forties who didn’t take lip from anybody, Nita worked as a traveling sales woman for a beauty supply company, calling on accounts in a five state area. Then life got disrupted and she became a cosmetologist, owning her own beauty shop in Kansas, followed by work as a dental assistant. A few more curves came her way and she landed in Den-ver, first managing an apartment building, then moving on to sell real estate. No moss grew under those high heels!
In the 1970s Nita married Curt Jensen, whose job with Kaiser Engineers took them to Indonesia. She embraced the people and the culture, bringing home rich memories and beautiful batiks. Not holding still for long, when the Indonesian contract was up, Nita returned to California and jumped right into politics. A lifelong Democrat (and darn proud of it!) she became a Senior Assembly-woman and Nursing Home Ombudsman, ever passionate about protecting the rights of seniors.
But Nita wasn’t done with life yet. She and her husband retired to Texas (well, one of them re-tired...) and she jumped into a whole new career, opened an interior decorating shop, and with her creativity and painting skills, taught art lessons to local residents. Nita was an accomplished artist and won several awards for her oil paintings, continuing to paint through more moves and life changes. Not only was she a fine artist, but she was a skilled seamstress who could make just about anything: beautiful window coverings, bedspreads, table clothes, and clothing. Her brushes and easel were only put away when she turned 100.
On her own once again, Nita moved in 2000 to Spokane, settling in a small home on the South Hill, where she finally found the grounding and comfort she’d longed for her entire life, making many dear friends. She was also now close to son Gary, so she could give him lots of advice. She loved cooking, entertaining, drinking wine, dancing, and family get-togethers, especially if it hap-pened all together and there were high heels involved. She kept on traveling, exploring the north-west, Canada, and trekking back to visit her Kansas family. Meanwhile, when she wasn’t painting, she was a volunteer for the Washington State Long Term Care Ombudsman Program.
Nita was never afraid to speak up and relished being a rebel rouser. When she didn’t like food that was being served in a restaurant or dining hall, she wasn’t shy about telling the chef what she thought of “that slop!” On the flip side, she was full of compassion and affection and never failed to tell her family and friends how much she loved them. When she had no plans and felt a little bored, she would hint for an invitation with “I’m still here, I’m not going anywhere...”
A celebration of Nita’s long and amazing life will be held later, so pick out your high heels while you still have time. While she left many words of wisdom, her snappiest line was delivered at her 100th birthday party when she got called out for cheating on a game and in a heartbeat she threw her head back and laughed, “Well, I didn’t get to 100 by following the rules!”
Passing before Nita were her mother Pauline Sheil and siblings Ruth Murray, Teresa Haag, Mi-chael, James and John Sheil. She leaves behind her son Gary (Marisa) Intinarelli; three grandchil-dren, Michael (Kimberly) Intinarelli, Craig (Catherine) Intinarelli, Lauren Intinarelli; five great grandchildren; two great great grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
If you wish to make a donation in Nita’s vibrant memory, please consider Hospice of Spokane, P.O. Box 2215, Spokane, WA 99210-2215. Please share your memories of Nita on her tribute wall at www.HennesseyValley.com.
Funeral arrangements provide by
Hennessey Funeral Home and Crematory
1315 N. Pines Rd.
Spokane Valley, WA 99206
Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune, March 16, 2024
