Jenna B. McCarley

Jenna B. Cox McCarley was born on September 19, 1934, in Electra, TX, during the Great Depression. Shortly after her birth, the family moved to Sherman, TX, and then a year later, to Bryan County, OK, where her father bought a farm just across the Red River from Denison, TX.
Jenna attended a small country school in Kemp, OK. In her junior year, because of her interest in science, her parents paid out-of-state tuition so she could take high school science classes. She graduated from Denison High School, TX, in May, 1952.
Jenna met her future husband, Robert "Bob" McCarley, when she was walking with his sister from a high school football game, and he stopped to give them a ride. It was love at first sight and the beginning of a lifelong partnership, as they were happily married for 63 years.
After their wedding in November, 1952, they moved to Austin, TX, where Bob was pursuing his PhD degree at the University of Texas. Jenna worked as a laboratory technician in a doctors' office, and later, at a radiobiological research lab while Bob was in school. They had two children, Robert Carlton "Carl" and Amelia Kyanne, while he was completing his degree.
In 1956, they packed up and moved to Ames, IA, where Bob was offered a postdoc position at the Ames Laboratory and the Chemistry Department at Iowa State University. They had two more children, Maura Lynn and Tonia Marie.
After all kids were in school, Jenna started back to college and finished her bachelor's degree in Zoology in 1975. She worked as a laboratory technician at ISU, first in the Vet Med college, then in the Zoology and Food Sciences departments.
Jenna and Bob always loved to travel. There were many beloved and memorable camping trips to the Rocky Mountains, and they instilled in each of their children a love of nature that shines to this day.
In 1977, they took their two youngest children, Maura and Tonia, to live in Stuttgart, Germany. Bob worked at the Max Planck Institute on faculty improvement leave for six months, and then they traveled across Europe for another month.
Jenna was always dedicated to humanitarian concerns. She was instrumental in starting the Center for Creative Justice (CCJ) in Ames, and in her later years, she was heavily involved in the National Alliance for Mentally Ill (NAMI)-Central Iowa. In 1983, she traveled to the Soviet Union to promote peace among churches in the Soviet Union and the US.
Jenna was blessed with a loving family, including her 4 children, 5 grandchildren, and 7 great grandchildren. She lived her life dedicated to serving humanity.
She is preceded in death by her husband Bob and granddaughter Lyndsey (McCarley) Garcia of Ames. She is survived by her 4 children, Carl (Bridget) McCarley of Ames; Kyanne (Phil) Danowsky of Cotopaxi, CO; Maura (Pete) Torkildson of Concord, CA; and Tonia McCarley of Ames, 4 grandchildren, and 7 great grandchildren.
Visitation for Jenna McCarley will be held from 4:00 - 6:00 PM on Friday, October 17, 2025, at Grandon Funeral Home, 414 Lincoln Way, in Ames.
A Celebration of Life will take place on May 23, 2026, at First Baptist Church in Ames. Details will be posted on the Grandon web site (https://www.grandonfuneralandcremationcare.com/obituaries/).
In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to CCJ and/or First Baptist Church of Ames.