Gene and Joyce Jenkins Gene and...

Gene and Joyce Jenkins

Gene and Joyce Jenkins of Burbank recently celebrated their 50

years of wedded bliss with a seven-day Norwegian cruise around the

Hawaiian Islands. The highlight was a stop at Fanning Island in the

Republic of Kiribati, not far from the equator.

The inhabitants spoke no English and seemed very happy and

relaxed, even though they live without electricity and other

conveniences.

The couple met while they were working for Trans World Airlines in

Kansas City. They married Dec. 6, 1952. Soon after the wedding, Gene

was drafted into the Army. It was toward the end of the Korean

Conflict.

Following his discharge, they moved to Burbank, and Gene used his

GI Bill to further his education in preparation for 40 years in the

radio and television news business. He retired from KABC-TV in 1995.

Joyce had been a teacher in Iowa before working for TWA. She was a

homemaker for 20 years, raising their three daughters, before she

returned to the workforce. She retired in 1992 from Community Bank in

Burbank.

The couple’s oldest daughter, Debra Jenkins-Robinson, died in a

car accident in 1991. Their second daughter, Wendy Clayton, is

married to David Clayton, and they have three children, David Jr.,

21, Matthew, 20, and Rachel, 14. Their youngest daughter, Tamara

Jenkins-Kortepeter, has one son, Derek, 12.

All the children were married at the First United Methodist Church

in Burbank, where Joyce and Gene are longtime members.