JeNae Lay, age 78 of Helena

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JeNae Tuck Lay

Our sweet mom, grandmother, and loving wife, JeNae, returned to meet her Heavenly Parents and Savior, Jesus Christ, on October 18, 2025.

JeNae Tuck was born on October 9, 1947, in Missoula, Montana to Nelda Pedersen Tuck and Nolan James Tuck.  She was the 4th of 8 children, with 5 beloved sisters and two brothers.  At age 8, she chose to be baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on May 5th, 1956.  Her devotion to and testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ became her guiding light and set the direction for the rest of her life.

The Tuck family moved to Helena in 1956, where JeNae attended Central School and Helena Junior High School, and graduated from Helena High in 1965. JeNae grew up a member of the Helena LDS congregation, where she met a young man named Dennis Lay when she was 9 and he was 10.  Some years later, that handsome young man took her on a date, and Mom always said that she knew from the age of 14 that she had found her soul mate and knew who she was going to marry. JeNae and Denny became high school sweethearts, and their love story is one that is deep and true.

After high school graduation, JeNae attended Brigham Young University and later graduated from Mary Kawakami College of Beauty in Provo, Utah.

The time came when JeNae and Denny couldn’t wait any longer to be together forever. On June 7, 1968, they were married in Helena and then, a year later, sealed together for Time and All Eternity in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple.

Throughout their marriage, they built their life and family together in a few places around Montana, primarily in Helena and Kalispell, and welcomed six fabulous children– 4 sons and 2 daughters, along the way.

In the 2nd grade, JeNae was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up and she proudly said, “A Mom!” to which her teacher replied, “What do you really want to be?” but she again insisted that being a mom was the only career she dreamed of.   She was an incredible mother to her six kids, attending (mostly cheerfully) hundreds of baseball games, dance recitals, Boy Scout meetings, and choir concerts. Later in her life, she was thrilled to welcome six new in-law children to her family and heart and to become the doting and beloved grandmother to 32 (slightly spoiled but very adored) grandchildren.

She also opened her home and heart to dozens of children as a daycare provider for more than 25 years. Ask any of the kids who attended “JeNae’s Family Daycare” and they will tell you how loving she was and how important and cherished she made them feel.  JeNae poured herself into her role as a teacher and a surrogate mother to every child that came through her door.

Throughout her life, JeNae made special efforts to serve the people and communities around her.  During the 1990s, to improve and strengthen the quality of childcare in the Helena area, she helped to establish the Helena Child Care Association and served as its first president.  In the early 2000s, after undergoing her own life-changing surgery, she founded and led the Helena chapter of a Bariatric Support group that provided much needed guidance and resources to help others be successful after their surgeries.

JeNae was a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  She devoted her life to being a true follower of Jesus Christ and viewed all aspects of her life from the context of the gospel.  In June of 1984 she set a goal to read scriptures daily with her family, and for the last 41 years, she did not miss a day of scripture study.  That legacy of daily study lives on in the lives of her children and their families. She served in many positions within the church ranging from working with the Primary children to planning ward parties and talent shows, to teaching Sunday School and serving the women of the Relief Society.  From 2015 to 2017, JeNae and Dennis served as full-time missionaries for the Church in Palmyra, New York, and she would often say that serving in that sacred place with her husband was one of the greatest joys of her life.

JeNae was a talented poet who wrote many inspiring and uplifting stories and poems about the things she loved.  Her flair for the dramatic was unmatched. She had a gift for recitation and delivery, and delighted many audiences with her performances, such as her animated rendition of “The Prayer of Cyrus Brown.”

She loved sewing and crafting and making beautiful things.  She was an amazing cook and had a sign in her kitchen that read: “Food is my love language.” She would often say that she had a need to feed, and no one who came to visit was ever allowed to leave hungry. She made everyone who entered her home feel like family.

JeNae’s personality shined in every interaction.  She was incredibly funny and feisty, and she often left a conversation with a hint of sarcasm and wit in her wake. She made friends with almost anybody she met, and her (occasionally embarrassed) children often needed to exercise patience while they waited for Mom to finish a warm conversation with a new friend at the grocery store, or a delivery guy at the door. She was a “Mama Griz” to her core, and fiercely, lovingly protective of the ones she held dear.  She was tenacious and never gave up when faced with a challenge.  Her family often laughed that she was the gregarious balance to Denny’s reserve.

JeNae is preceded in death by her parents, Nolan and Nelda Tuck, her in-law parents, Raymond and Esther Lay, her sister Arlene Norton, brother James Tuck, and sister Diane Tuck.

She is survived by her sweetheart and husband of 57 years, Dennis Lay of Helena, her children, Jeffrey (Celina) Lay of Provo, UT, Ryan (Celeste) Lay of St. George, Utah, Kenneth (Kathy) Lay of Helena, Janet (Ross) Wilkins of Helena, Russell (Carmen) Lay of Helena, and Wendy (Michael) Vincent of Turlock, CA and 31 grandchildren.  She is also survived by her sisters Armelia (Gordon) Johnson, Carol (Tony) Smith, and Linda VanderVeur, and her brother Wayne (Theresa) Tuck.

JeNae leaves a legacy of love, and her teachings and example will long be remembered by family and friends. She embodied the woman described in Proverbs 31:28: “Her children arise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.”

Viewing hours will be 10:00 -11:00 AM on Monday, October 27, 2025, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1610 6th Avenue in Helena, and funeral services will begin at 11:00 at the church.  Interment will be at Forestvale Cemetery immediately after the funeral service.

Service Schedule

Family Receiving Friends

5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Sunday October 26, 2025

Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home

3750 N. Montana Avenue

Helena, Montana 59601

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Visitation

10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Monday October 27, 2025

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

1610 6th Avenue

Helena, Montana 59601

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Funeral Service

11:00 a.m.

Monday October 27, 2025

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

1610 6th Avenue

Helena, Montana

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Burial

Immediately follow the Funeral Service

Monday October 27, 2025

Forestvale Cemetery

Helena, Montana

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Funeral Reception

Immediately following the Burial

Monday October 27, 2025

Cultural Center of the Church

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