Jerry Juanita. Jenkins "ICY" (Madison Stewart Wilkins)

Ms. Jerry Juanita Jenkins "ICY" (Madison Stewart Wilkins) was delivered to the hands of our Lord on February 26, 2026. She was born on November 2, 1942, in Huntsville, Alabama, to her parents, Flora Lee Wilkins Cleveland Brown and Thomas Jerry Cleveland. As a young child, Jerry attended Catholic grade school in St. Louis, Missouri, and High School in Denver, Colorado. She was very interested in school and excelled in English and Dramatics. She earned her Bachelor of Science from Metropolitan State University of Denver and later her Master of Arts in English Language Arts from the University of Colorado at Denver. As a woman of faith and a believer in the Lord, Jerry was a member of New Hope Baptist Church in Denver.

In 1960, she married Milton Turnerhill, and to that union, her daughter, Jerry Lee Turnerhill (Derric Anderson), was born. When that marriage dissolved, she married Rese W. Jenkins, Jr., and to that union was born Renita Lee Jenkins and Maurese Andrew Jenkins (Traci Jenkins).

As an adult, Jerry Juanita Jenkins worked for the City of Denver, the State of Colorado, and the Federal Government, often the only African American Woman in her department for many years, in a variety of positions with increasing responsibility. In her pastime, she was a Camp Fire Girl Leader and wrote for the Denver Weekly News. Jerry enjoyed being an acting coach, writing and producing her own plays. In the early 1990’s, she legally changed her name to Madison Stewart Wilkins, adopting the last names of her stepfather, her great-grandfather, and her mother. However, many people knew her as “ICY,” which epitomized her life’s work in advocating for “Interested Concerned Youth,” a 501(c)(3) non-profit, drug-free, gang-free youth organization to which she dedicated much of her time.

Jerry leaves behind her three children, Dr. Jerry Lee Turnerhill Anderson (Derric Anderson), Renita Lee Jenkins, and Maurese Jenkins Sr. (Traci Jenkins). From those three children, she leaves thirteen grandchildren: Diane Anderson, Jessica Anderson Burnette, Forrest Anderson (Dadriona Anderson), Solomon Anderson, Alexius Allen (Megan Allen), Amory Allen, Mallorie Thompson, Jemisen Johnson, Micah Bearden, Bobby Saul, Maurese Jenkins, Jr., Kyla Smith-Jenkins, and Laila Jenkins, along with eighteen great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her mother, Flora Lee Brown, and her aunt, Juanita Ewing Gines, who, with her late husband, Henderon Gines, raised her first cousins, Dr. Bobby Gines (Brenda Gines), the late Henderson Gines, Jr. (Jan Gines), Juanita Gines Curtis, and the late Barbara Gines Slaughter. She also leaves a host of cousins, other relatives, and friends.