UTEP lost a fond piece of its history when former secretary for the track and field team, Katie Jensen, died at the age of 106, UTEP announced on Facebook.
“Miss Katie” as she was known to everyone in the track program, worked in the UTEP track and field office for 33 years, starting in 1985 until her retirement in 2018 at the age of 98.
In the final eight years of her life, she was a fixture at UTEP basketball games.
Upon her retirement in 2018, she said of the track program, “Oh, I’m going to miss them all dreadfully … just dreadfully. All the athletes and coaches are just so thoughtful, so generous. I hug each one of them every time and I always have some cookies on my desk for them. They have not just become part of my life. They have become my family.”
In a Facebook post announcing her death, UTEP offered another of her quotes: “I love all the athletes, and I will always keep them close to my heart. — Miss Katie”
Funeral services are pending.
Jensen was born at Masonic Hospital in El Paso on Valentine’s Day in 1920 and she graduated from Austin High School in 1937. Jensen worked for the old State National Bank, now Wells Fargo, until retiring in 1985. She then came to work for UTEP.
Former UTEP coach Bob Kitchens said of Jensen: “I inherited her from (previous coach) Tom Jones. It took a while. Who was running this program? Her or me. I finally had to give in. I inherited her but she was a person I came to respect, to admire, to love.”
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Beloved UTEP track secretary Katie Jensen dies at 106
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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By Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times | USA TODAY Network
