Nella Jenkins

On August 21, Nella Crooks Jenkins passed away peacefully in her sleep in Jefferson City, Missouri. A memorial service will be held in Chicago, Illinois at a later date. Born Nella Evadne Crooks in Hampton, Virginia, she was the daughter of Dr. Kenneth Crooks and Mrs. Nella Edgar Crooks. The youngest of four children, Nella Secunda, as she was called, spent her early days at Hampton Institute (now Hampton University), where her father taught biology and coached soccer. The Crooks family moved to Jamaica in 1941, where Nella completed her high school education.

Nella was a graduate of the University of Massachusetts and worked in the field of medical technology until 2001. Her career began at the medical laboratories of the Harvard-affiliated Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston and continued in Chicago, where she worked as a researcher at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and as a lab manager at Provident and Roseland Community Hospitals.

With her first husband Frank Seal, Nella had a daughter. Nella's second marriage was to Ulysses "Duke" Jenkins. Nella and Duke traveled extensively, visiting Brazil, Mexico, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, and Germany. The family even lived in Nigeria for a year, where Duke was an affiliate scholar at the University of Ife.

After Duke passed away, Nella moved to Fort Valley, Georgia to take care of her elderly mother. While in Fort Valley, where both her parents had been faculty members at Georgia HBCU Fort Valley State University, she attended St. Peter AME Church, volunteered in the community garden, and fulfilled her lifelong dream of learning to play the harp. She enjoyed jogging and was an avid student of Hatha Yoga, teaching yoga classes in two local churches and volunteering at the Peach County Older American Council.

Nella joined her brother Kenneth and his wife Mary G. at the Hammond Glen Retirement Community in Sandy Springs, Georgia after her mother passed away. As she further declined in health, she moved to Missouri to be closer to her daughter and grandchildren.

Nella is remembered fondly for her ready smile, her kind nature, and as someone who contributed selflessly to her communities. Her professional affiliations and community service included the American Society of Clinical Pathologists, International Who's Who of Professionals (1997), and Muntu Dance Theater of Chicago, where she served as a board member from 1985-1996.

Nella was preceded in death by her parents, Kenneth and Nella Crooks, her husband, Duke Jenkins, brothers-in-law Gilbert Chavis and Joseph Jenkins, and son-in-law Jacob Collins. She is survived by siblings Cynthia "Cyd", Kenneth II, Sylvia "Sylvie" and sister-in-law Irva Jenkins; children (by birth and marriage) Adé, Sharon, Chuka, and Tatjana; nieces and nephews Jan, Jeffery, Stefan, Susan, Kenneth III, and Shelly; grandchildren Kyan, Zion, Ivorie, Tovah, Joshua Collins, Benjamin, Joshua Jenkins, Hannah, Ruby, Levin, Lili, and Lovis; seven great-grandchildren, and a host of relatives, extended family, and friends.

Expressions of sympathy may be directed to Adé Pious at (773) 853-3727.