Bettina Bourjaily

Bettina Yensen Bourjaily of Clive, Iowa, died Monday, March 2, 2020, at home in her Bickford Cottage apartment from the complications of old age. Born in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, on August 26, 1924, to parents Anna and Joseph Yensen, Bettina moved with her family to California when she was in high school. She next moved across the country to Washington, DC, with her horse, for a job in the State Department typing pool. There she met and married novelist Vance Bourjaily and, after living in Maine, New York, and San Francisco, moved to Iowa City where her then husband taught at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. Bettina became a steward of the land, overseeing a farm that is now Iowa public land. Her conservation efforts were recognized with several awards including the 2004 Governor’s Iowa Environmental Excellence Award. After retiring from farming, she arranged the staging of live animals in operas at the University of Iowa and rescued King Charles Cavalier Spaniels. She had three children, Anna (deceased), Philip (Pamela), and Robin, and four beloved grandchildren, Gordon, John, Philip, and Laura. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 7 at 10am at Caldwell Parrish Funeral Home, 8201 Hickman Road in Urbandale. Donations in Bettina’s memory may be made to Pheasants Forever (https://www.pheasantsforever.org/Donations), a conservation organization that was instrumental in preserving Redbird Farm for all to enjoy.