JESSIE A. THILENIUS

Jessie Amelia Thilenius, 90, of Brookings, S.D., a former elementary teacher and composer of numerous songs, died Saturday, Nov. 6, 1993, at Brookview Manor in Brookings.

She was born Nov. 2, 1903, at Clarkton, daughter of Walter M. and Margaret L. Young Hubbard. She and Arthur W. Thilenius were married March 10, 1925, at Chaffee.

Thilenius attended Southeast Missouri State University. She taught school and music several years at Clarkton and Chaffee. She then worked at Hale's Jewelry in Cape Girardeau, retiring in 1960.

Among the songs she composed was "A Rose for Cape Girardeau," in observance of the city's Sesquicentennial in 1956. The march was adopted by the city council and Chamber of Commerce as the official song for Cape Girardeau. It was played one year by Southeast Missouri State University's Golden Eagles Marching Band at the Rose Bowl Parade. The song has also appeared in Reader's Digest.

Thilenius was a member of First Presbyterian Church here, and active in various functions of the church. She was selected Woman of the Year in 1963, and had served on the committees of Cape Girardeau Sesquicentennial, Voyagers Re-enactment of Louis and Clark Expedition (Tricentennial) in 1973, Missouri Sesquicentennial in 1971, and the United States Bicentennial in 1976.

Thilenius was past president of Writers Guild, Wednesday Club, Cape County Historical Society, past vice president of Cerebral Palsy in Cape Girardeau and Southeast Missouri, and helped establish the first museum in Cape Girardeau.

She was a past member of Schubert Choral Club, John Kerr Chapter of DAR, and Missouri Historical Society.

Thilenius and her husband were also responsible for producing the Cape Girardeau City and County Historical Sites Maps.

The couple moved to Rolla in 1980, and then to Brookings in 1984.

Survivors include her husband; a daughter, Ferne Gaarder of Alpine, Calif.; a brother, Loomis Hubbard of Rolla; four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by two brothers.

Funeral service will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Rude's Funeral Home in Brookings. The Rev. Larry Boutelle will officiate, with burial in First Lutheran Cemetery at Brookings.

Friends may call at the funeral home from 2-5 p.m. today, and on Wednesday prior to service.