Obituary

Jinnae reunited with her beloved husband in Heaven on April 8, 2023, after a spontaneous brain hemorrhage occurred while sleeping in her own home where she had lived for 47 years. Jinnae was born to Jeanette Kropp and Edward Anderson at Fort Offutt in Bellevue, Nebraska on February 27, 1948. Jeanette later married Sheldon Kochel and gave Jinnae 4 siblings: Shelley, Kim, Sheldon and John. Jinnae attended Abraham Lincoln High School and was a proud member of the Giddy Pips sorority, where she made lifelong friends.

In 1968, Jinnae met James (Jim) Wessling of Mapleton, Iowa. They were married the following year in Columbus, Ohio on November 8, 1969. In 1971 they welcomed their first and only child, Jennifer. Together they ventured to California in 1976, where they soon found their forever home in Lake Forest.

Jinnae was a dedicated mother to Jennifer and spent countless hours volunteering in her activities. She was a Girl Scout Leader, classroom and library volunteer at her elementary school, and even bought her own tap shoes to practice tap dancing routines with Jennifer in their back yard.

Once Jennifer was a bit older, Jinnae began working at Yeiser Garland and Associates, an interior design firm in Newport Beach. There she coordinated the decoration of design homes and made many friends with her outgoing personality and attention to detail. It was while working at Yeiser Garland that Jinnae found a feral kitten and brought her home. She just loved animals. Over the years she had two toy poodles, Pepper and Tiggy, as well as two cats, Meanie and Moe (who she found in the alley at work).

When her years at Yeiser Garland came to an end, she found a new opportunity to contribute her gifts as a volunteer when she and Jim became members of the Mission Viejo Elks Lodge. Jinnae spent many years as a valuable member of the Lady Elks, including serving as President, Ways and Means Chair, and coordinating major events, such as the Ladies Fashion Show each March. Jinnae also coordinated many events for the Elks bowling league, traveling to Laughlin, Santa Maria and other tournament locations. She was a good bowler and this wasn’t her first league, as she had been a valued member of the Welcome Wagon league in Columbus, Ohio in the 1970’s.

The Elks Lodge also led Jinnae and Jim to a new passion: camping. They had never owned a motorhome, but after meeting the Runaways camping group members and visiting a campout or two, they were hooked. They started with a small RV and later upgraded to a 40 foot diesel pusher with air brakes. Each month they would venture out with the Runaways for 4 days to different campgrounds around California. This gave them the confidence to make longer trips through Washington, Idaho, Colorado, and Utah. Jinnae’s happiest times in the last 10 years of her life were in that motorhome with Jim by her side.

In addition to Jennifer, Jinnae is survived by her granddaughter, Riley.

A service will be held at O’Connor Mortuary in Mission Viejo on Monday, May 8 at 10 am. A celebration of life will follow at the Mission Viejo Elks Lodge from 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm.