Obituary of Vicki Jensen

Vicki S. Jensen, a longtime resident of Rockville Centre, N.Y., who took great joy in raising her two daughters, died peacefully on Wednesday, July 12, at a nursing facility in Lynbrook, N.Y. She was 73 and had been diagnosed with tongue cancer.

She was a certified public accountant with her own practice for several years but devoted her life to her family. Adopting her two daughters was pivotal in her life, and she poured her energy into raising her family, learning as much as she could about her children’s heritage, and instilling in them a sense of pride in their roots. 

She devoted countless hours to leading cultural lessons for their elementary school classes, driving them to cultural summer day camp and language classes, making their music studies and sports activities possible, and throwing creative birthday parties to create lasting memories. 

She loved to travel and spent many happy family vacation days at the Jersey Shore, in Maine, in California and on Long Island, in addition to flying with her family to China to adopt her youngest daughter and to South Korea, her elder daughter’s birth country.

Vicki was born in Rockford, Illinois, in June 1950 and grew up nearby in Loves Park and in the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California, where she graduated from South Hills High School. She was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Southern California, majoring in psychology. She later earned a master’s degree in library science at Columbia University and an M.B.A. at Hofstra University.

Her passion for knowledge and thought-provoking discussion never stopped; she was energized by learning about her daughters’ heritages and diverse cultures and religions, and up until her very last days she was known for sending long emails musing about the latest political or human rights news stories or arguing for societal change.

She worked as a project coordinator at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., early in her career and was an auditor for accounting firm Arthur Andersen from 1979 to 1983 before starting her private accounting practice.

Vicki was an active member of St. Mark’s Methodist Church in Rockville Centre in the 1990’s.

Vicki married William Dicke in 1970 and their union lasted 51 years until a divorce in 2022.

She is survived by her daughters, Joanna Kelley of Brooklyn and Lianna Risner of Leavenworth, Kansas, a sister, Sandra Kennon of Bullhead City, Arizona, her former husband of Rockville Centre and three grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Spence-Chapin Services to Families and Children or to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.