Constance “Connie” (Jacks) Lorenson

Born on Feb. 2, 1932, to Ralph Jacks and Alice (Kunz) Jacks, Connie was raised in Detroit, MI.  Connie graduated from Pershing High School in August 1949.  As a graduation present from her parents, she took a trip to the Upper Peninsula to visit her Uncle Roy and Aunt Helia’s farm.  It was on this visit that she was introduced to a young sailor- a hero just discharged from the Navy in WWII, so poor he was still in his navy uniform bell-bottom pants until he could afford a pair of his own. His name was Delbert Lorenson, and it was love at first sight.

Connie’s work history involved working the lunch counter at Kresge’s Dime Store, a seamstress at a Glove Factory, a Nurse’s Aid for 3 years at the Bishop Noa Home, then a Purchasing Agent at Bishop Noa Home for the following 14 years.  She loved this role.  She served as a waitress at iconic places of Escanaba such as the Terrace, the Log Cabin, and the House of Ludington.

Connie was a magnificent cook and even started a catering business with her friend, Gen O’Leary.  Her grandchildren remember dinners at her home filled with multiple courses of delectable foods and fancy table settings.  Her meals would have themes.  From the napkin holders to the entrée, you feasted in China, Germany, or the seacoast.  In 1963, when she was pregnant with her 3^rd child, Connie and her girlfriends were picking apples from the trees on their property.  As a joke, the ladies decided to see how many apple pies they could make in one day.  That blessed day became a new tradition every Labor Day Weekend for the next 50 years.  Family members would peel, core, and cut bushels of apples, while Connie stood for hours making her crust from scratch, and baking pie after pie.  She could make 50 pies in one day, with a record of 62!

From her early high school days, she found a love of writing and took journalism as well as writing for her school newspaper.  Later, she went on to take writing courses at the college level at Bay College. While there, her daughter, Pam, and granddaughter, Bethany, were also earning their associate degrees; three generations enrolled at Bay College at the same time.  She articulated herself so well in her writing, that she took to the podium and began giving speeches for various clubs and organizations such as P.T.A. for Gladstone Schools and E.L.C.A. Women’s Aid.  She had stories published in a book of the U.P. called “Saunas and Iron Mines.”  Her writing was a special entertainment to her family, as they heard many of her humorous stories and poems at family gatherings.  In some poems, she waxed sentimental of days gone by.  In others, she gave wise advice for the children in the family.  Some stories brought laughter, while others hit us hard with the reality of war and life’s suffering.  It was this gift of writing that opened doorways between older and younger generations, helping us never to forget who our ancestors are, where we come from, and who we can strive to be.  Connie always saw the lessons learned through tragedy but didn’t want the years to steal those lessons away from her future lineage.  Her writings will forever remain a treasured inheritance for many generations to come.