DeLores (Speed) Cutler Secher-Jensen

DeLores Nadene Secher-Jensen passed away on June 13, 2025, in Wenatchee, Washington. She was born in Wenatchee on May 22, 1931, to Carl J. Speed and Frances (Weir) Speed, long-time residents of Wenatchee. DeLores was the granddaughter of "Washington Territorial Pioneers" Micheal and Anna Marie Weir, who homesteaded in Waterville in 1886. She was also the granddaughter of Roe and Eunice Speed, 1903, pioneers of Pearl Hill, Del Rio, and Waterville areas in Douglas County. Dee attended Stevens, and Lewis and Clark elementary schools. While at Lewis and Clark, she was a charter member of the "Wawahanpi Camp Fire Girls," beginning as a Blue Bird, and moving up through the ranks to achieve the highest rank of "Torch Bearer Craftsman." This was awarded in "Camp Craft" and "Citizenship." She graduated from Wenatchee High School in the class of 1949. She was a member of the National Honor Society. DeLores credits her instructors for an excellent education, and her taking three years of Latin, and much knowledge gained in "Torch Bearer Craftsman,” for having a successful life as an adult. DeLores was employed by the Wenatchee School District for several years as Secretary to two superintendents: Mr. Paul Furgeson and Dr. Harold KLose. She was later employed by Franklin Pierce School District in Parkland, Washington. There, she worked in Vocational and Federal Education and Training, and Grants Management. She was also employed by the district's large Summer School Program and large Night School Program. Dee retired in 1991, after 27 years in the public school system. Dee was also self-employed as a commercial artist, cartographer, Ozalid printing machine operator, and delineator for architects. She said her biggest thrill was "throwing the first ink" with a group of surveyors, on a map of the original survey of the Wells Hydroelectric Dam on the Columbia River. Among her many memberships were the Tacoma Art Museum, the Irish Cultural Club, Washington State Historical Society, Tacoma Scots, Seattle Highland Games Assn., Richard 111. Society, Scandinavian Cultural Center, Stillaguamish Valley Pioneers, and many others. She was an Oblate of St. Benedict at St. Martin's Abbey, Lacey, Washington. She also participated in many events and study programs at Mt. Angel, Oregon. She liked sewing and beading, making her own patterns. She created authentic Medieval clothing and also gathered up tartans and made Scottish Highland Dress outfits, including finding dancing ghillies!!! It was a pleasure for her to be a room mother for her two sons' elementary school classes, with special themes and treats for all. She was also a Cub Scout Den Mother. Dee was so proud of her little "Cubbies" as they went on to have successful and satisfying lives. Dee loved to travel and had many thrilling and fascinating adventures, especially in Turkey, Greece, Israel, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Ireland, Germany, and the Hebrides Islands. She also took many trips to England, Scotland, and Switzerland. She liked to stay for extended periods in places she had read about or seen on TV. Especially interesting to her were locations mentioned in the "Inspector Morse" series, and those places in "Agatha Christi❞ books. DeLores began piano lessons in Wenatchee at age four, in a "Musical Kindergarten." She continued to enjoy music and performances of all types, here in the U.S., and overseas, including Wagner events and attending the Mozart Festival. Her special favorites were attending Indian drumming events, and pow wows, and was a follower of the "Lower Elwah Drum." She attended Shakespeare productions in Stratford Upon-Avon in England several times, and visited Shakespearian sites around that area. She attended the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon many years. Dee loved theater in general. She loved to read and had a vast collection of books. She liked making "painted furniture." To complete the steps required to achieve the final results, most pieces would take many months. Dee loved art of all kinds and had three "Solo" art shows in the Tacoma area. Each show required a "Program" and several dozen or more pieces of her work. Her mediums were watercolor, pencil, charcoal, acrylics, and oil. From her early childhood and throughout her life's journeys, DeLores was a seeker and collector of information. She became an amazing living library of knowledge. She was our oracle of facts, factoids, world history, and especially, family history. Dee and Jarl Seche-Jensen were married on April 2, 1967, at the Wenatchee First Methodist Church. The officiant was the Reverend Dr. J. Henry Ernst, Pastor. Dee's parents are Frances Speed and the late Carl Speed, of Wenatchee. Jarl's parents are Mr. and Mrs. Kaj Carl Soren Secher-Jensen, of Kent, Washington. At the wedding, a three-hundred-year-old set of brass candelabra from a Danish convent was placed on the altar. The groom's entire 6th-grade class from Malaga attended, along with their room mothers. Following the ceremony, a reception was held at the church, with many “ethnic" Danish touches. A long authentic "Smorgasbord" was laid out, and sit-down dinner was served. The last name "Secher-Jensen" was created by Letters Patent, when Jarl's grandfather, Lauritz, a Danish attorney, "Ridder Dannebrog," was knighted by King Frederick the VIII, of Denmark. DeLores was preceded in death by her former husband, Dale Leon Cutler. He was an Air Force survival instructor in Arizona and Colorado, organized by General Curtis LeMay. In civilian life, Dale was a licensed Civil Engineer. She was preceded in death by her husband, Jarl Kanneth Secher-Jensen, who passed away in 2010. He served in the U.S. Army in California. As a civilian, Jarl taught for many years in the school system in Washington State. He participated in numerous marathons and triathlons, including those in Russia, Canada, and also in Hawaii's "Iron Man" competition. Jarl worked with mountain Search and Rescue teams here in Washington, and was a well-known and respected explorer and mountain climber. She was preceded in death by her beloved parents, special aunts, uncles, cousins, and long-time friends. Dee is survived by her five grandchildren: Jaymi Lynn Klaas, Darby Leigh Cutler, Shannon Marie Arthur, and by Amber Frances Farquhar Hamilton. She has 14 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her son, Danny Lon Cutler, his former wife, Nancy, of East Wenatchee, and by her son, Patrick Lewis Cutler, and his wife, Adieau Cutler, of Wenatchee. At her request, no public service will be held. She will be laid to rest, along with her husband, Jarl Secher-Jensen, in the pioneer family plot at the Waterville Fraternity Cemetery. "When her spirit left her aged body, "Loshie" could at last run forward... To meet those she loved, and those who loved her." "What's Past is Prologue" "Our revels now are ended These our actors as I foretold you, Were all spirits and are melted into air... into thin air And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, Yes, all of which it inherits shall dissolve And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind, We are such stuff as dreams are made on, And our little life is rounded with a sleep" William Shakespeare "The Tempest" Act 4, Scene 1 Rest in Peace, Madre

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DeLores (Speed) Cutler Secher-Jensen

May 22, 1931 - June 13, 2025