Frankleen Jensen Cozzens

May 25, 1926 – Aug. 3, 2026

Frankie, beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt and friend, passed away peacefully on August 3, 2026, at the remarkable age of 100.

Born on May 25, 1926, in Cowley, she had nine older siblings and was the last child in the family, born when her mother was 46. 

Her father, Oluf H. Jensen, immigrated from Denmark at the age of 9. He and his older brother sailed to the United States and traveled to Burlington, Wyoming, to live and work for the family who financed their travel. 

Frankie’s mother, Martha Estella Gordon Jensen, was born in Utah, but moved to Mormon Bend (later to be named Burlington), the first Mormon community colonized in northern Wyoming, when she was a teenager. Estella’s parents and grandparents had crossed the plains to Utah with handcarts, having immigrated from Scotland. 

Oluf and Estella were married in the early 1900s. They moved with their young family to Cowley in 1910. When Frankie was born, the family lived on the north corner of the third block north of Cowley’s Main Street on Division Street, called Airport road, for many years.

Frankie married David Ray Cozzens of Byron in 1945, and they lived in Byron for the first few years of their marriage, then they settled in Cowley, living most of their time on the south corner of that same third block that she was born on. 

Together they built a life centered around their family. Frankie was a devoted mother and took great pride in her children, David, Leslie and Andrea, her grandchildren, Jensen and Lindsay Kate, and great-grandson, Otto. Her family was her greatest joy, and she treasured every opportunity to gather together, share a meal, tell stories and celebrate life’s special occasions. 

However, she made even ordinary days special by always preparing something tasty to contribute to an event, be it a picnic to take up to the mountains, city parks throughout northern Wyoming or even out in a temporary fort her children made in the yard. Her house typically smelled of something that she had baked, and she always made extra so that she could take some down to whomever she thought would enjoy it.

Frankie was blessed with a century filled with family, friendships, hard work, faith and countless cherished memories. She witnessed a changing world and experienced many of the great events of her time, but throughout her long life she remained grounded in the things that mattered most to her: faith, family, home and the people she loved.

She will be remembered for her kindness, sense of humor, her love of music and beautiful singing voice, her independence and strength, her generosity, her gardening, particularly flowers, canning the garden harvests and bushels of fruit from Utah, pickling and making jams and jellies. Having lived through the depression, she learned frugality and how to make do. She had a gift for making people feel welcome and cared for, always welcoming her children’s friends in her home.

Dave was a horseman. They always had horses and other livestock in the corral and pasture. She was very much a partner in helping to tend the animals and all the goings on of a farm lifestyle. She loved babies and infants and that included all the foals, calves, lambs, piglets, kids (baby goats), etc. She found particular enjoyment in the return of a few robins who visited her place every spring to build new nests in her fence and lay their eggs. She delighted and marveled at the birth of all the critters and helped to nurse many animals to good health.

Frankie was never idle. In addition to her homemaking and the routines of tending to the lawn, gardens, corrals and pasture, she was always involved in a project, be it sewing, making a quilt or working on a church or community endeavor. After a few eye surgeries for retina problems, she was diagnosed with macular degeneration in her 70s. In the beginning, her vision decline was slight, and she didn’t let it affect her hobbies and daily life. She was saddened when her diminishing vision no longer allowed her to sew and do needlework. She eventually could only read enlarged fonts and acquired all scriptures and hymn books in large print. 

About the time Dave, her husband of 61 years, died in 2006, she was considered legally blind and the Federation of the Blind brought her a machine so she could read recipes and mail. It didn’t slow her down in her physical activities, but the decline eventually hindered her from daily journaling, as well.

Breaking her hip from a fall when she was out raking at the age of 93 and then a life flight by helicopter to Billings for an emergency surgery nine months later necessitated a move to the New Horizons Care Center. She hated leaving her home but continued to be as independent as possible at the center, taking daily walks throughout and visiting residents in other pods, even upstairs. 

She loved the caretakers there and would always comment to family in phone calls about how efficient, caring and hard-working the staff was. She attended all the activities the caregivers planned and would recruit other residents to go. The Sunday night entertainment of the musicians playing was a favorite of hers. 

During her 10 decades Frankie collected an abundance of treasured memories. She leaves behind not only a remarkable legacy of years, but a legacy of love that will continue through time.

Frankie leaves this world having given and received a lifetime of love. She will be deeply missed, lovingly remembered and forever treasured by those who were fortunate enough to know her. 

She was preceded in death by her husband, Dave, and three infant babies who died within hours and days of birth due to complications of RH Factor, Gregory, DR and Baby Girl. She mourned the deaths of son-in-law Steve Davies and step grandson Jason White in recent years. 

She was also preceded in death by her parents, Oluf and Estella Jensen; Dave’s parents, Matthew and Marybelle Robison Cozzens; all nine of her siblings and their spouses; Dave’s nine siblings and spouses; many nieces and nephews; and many dear friends. 

Family left to honor her legacy and memory with a celebration of life are son David (Donna) Cozzens of Las Vegas and their daughter Lindsay Kate Cozzens of New York City, daughter Leslie Davies and her daughter Jensen (Brent) and great-grandson Otto Lynch, all of Las Vegas, and daughter Andrea Sue Cozzens of Cowley.

A memorial to celebrate Frankie’s life will be held Saturday, Sept. 5, at 2 p.m. at the Cowley LDS Church in the cultural hall. All are invited to come together to remember and celebrate her life.