Obituaries

 

Merwyn E. Jenkins

PORTAGE – Merwyn E. Jenkins, age 77, died suddenly Saturday afternoon, July 13, 2013, while taking an afternoon drive in his car.

Merwyn Edward Jenkins was born Jan. 3, 1936 in Spokane, Washington, the son of Roy and Genevieve (Rohrbeck) Jenkins. After the birth of his brother, Tom, the following year his parents returned to Portage where his father founded Jenkins Motor Sales in 1938. Merwyn had a lifelong love of politics and cars. His first car in 1952 sported a “Robert Taft for President” bumper sticker and his nickname in the 1954 Portage High School yearbook was “The Senator.” He had an excellent memory of details, historical dates and events, and enjoyed many fascinating discussions. One of his favorite memories was being a dinner escort of the “Iron Lady,” Margaret Thatcher, former prime minister of the United Kingdom. Merwyn graduated from Portage High School in 1954 and attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas for one year, after which he graduated from the University of Chicago in 1959. Enlisting in the army, he was a member of the Army Intelligence staff in Berlin during the Berlin Crisis of 1961. After his discharge from the army he moved to Southern California, where he graduated from UCLA with a MBA in 1968. He lived in Santa Clara and Topanga Canyon while working for General Electric and Litton Industries. He loved California, especially Santa Barbara, and tried to vacation there as often as possible. In November of 1978 he returned to Portage, taking over Jenkins Transportation, which had the school bus contract for the Portage School District. In recent years he has been affiliated with First Weber Reality.  Merwyn was a member of many organizations – Sigma Chi Fraternity, the Country, Curling, and Elks Clubs of Portage, the Portage Historical Society, of which he was a past president, the American Legion and the Columbia County Republican Party. He was a lifelong member of the Portage United Methodist Church.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother and best friend, Tom, on Sep. 30, 2010.  Merwyn is survived by his sister-in-law, Kay Jenkins of Portage, and nieces and nephews; Dana Jenkins (Jim Duffy) of Cambridge, Ontario, Canada; Laurie (John) Considine of Portage; Brian (Laurel) Jenkins of Oak Hill, Va., Jean (Jason) Syens of Portage and Jon (Erin) Jenkins of New York City, other relatives and many friends.  

Funeral services will be held at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 21 at the Portage United Methodist Church, with the Rev. Tom Countryman officiating.  Burial will follow in Silver Lake Cemetery. Visitation will be from noon until the time of the funeral at the church. The Pflanz Mantey Mendrala Funeral Home in Portage is assisting the family.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Portage United Methodist Church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Obituaries
For information please call 608 742-2126 (Portage, WI) or 608 635-2763 (Poynette, WI)