Kaylene Jenkins

Kaylene Tucker Jenkins, 87, of Concord, departed this earthly life on Friday, November 5, 2021. She has joined her parents, John Fred Tucker and Lily Victoria Hinson, in God’s Heaven. Visitation will be held at Hartsell Funeral Home (460 Branchview Drive NE) in Concord, on Friday, November 12, 2021 from 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm.  A graveside burial will follow at 3:00 pm on Friday at Meadow Creek Primitive Baptist Church (1493 Meadow Creek Rd) in Locust, officiated by Rev. Don Burleyson.

Kaylene was born on October 18, 1934 in Concord, North Carolina. She grew up attending Meadow Creek and Liberty Hill Primitive Baptist Churches. She often shared fond memories of visiting grandparents and playing with cousins on Hinson Farm Lane and Mission Church Road in Locust. She admired her mother who served the Concord area as a registered nurse, and she adored her fun-loving father who worked in the local mills and served as a carriage driver.

Kaylene married Kenneth Clyde Jenkins in 1950 and settled in Gastonia, NC. She was a fun-loving mother to her children Kenneth Stewart Jenkins, Howard Ashley Jenkins, and Susan Carole Jenkins. She loved to skate backwards, skip rope like a champion, flip on the trampoline, play kick ball, climb Crowders Mountain and Chimney Rock, fish and camp, and ride the ocean waves. She always had music playing on the Victrola, the radio, or the stereo. She was an animal lover and enjoyed creating beautiful gardens. She sought treasures in thrift stores, and was an avid reader of murder mysteries, the history of the United States, and Presidential biographies. She was an active member of Myers Memorial Methodist Church in Gastonia, NC in the 1960s and 70s.

Kay was employed by First Union National Bank in Gastonia and in Charlotte.  She served as the President of the Business and Professional Women of Gastonia in the late 70s, and received a Business Woman of the year award. After retiring, she worked at the Schiele Museum in Gastonia before returning to Concord in the mid-90s to spend time with her sisters.

Kay was preceded in death by her three older sisters, Vergie Helms Burnette, Doris Mullis Correll, and Floella Freeman Overcash. She is survived by her younger sister, Carolyn Basinger Baker (Pat) of Concord. She is also survived by her children, Stewart Jenkins of Fairplay SC, Ashley Jenkins (Barbara) of Gastonia, and Susan Sumner Fennell (Tim) of Raleigh and Kannapolis. Kay is the grandmother of Seth Tucker Jenkins of Anderson SC (children Natalie, Brantley, and Dalton), Katie Reid Jenkins Wolfgang (Josh) of Ravena NY (children Logan, Jacob, and Sophia), Zachary Baker Jenkins of Anderson SC, Ashley Zebulon Jenkins (Brooke) of Charlotte (daughter Madison), Emily Macourt Jenkins Fennell of Chapel Hill, and Michael Kenneth Hugh Fennell of Raleigh.

The family is grateful to Melissa Patterson for staying home with Kay during her most challenging years to provide companionship, and endless car rides through the country.

Memorial donations may be made to the Humane Society of Concord and Greater Cabarrus County, 2010 Wilshire Ct SW, Concord, NC 28025.

Hartsell Funeral Home of Concord is serving the Jenkins family.

Online condolences may be made at www.hartsellfh.com