John William Jensen, 28 Mar 1926 – 26 Oct 2012

JENSEN, SHIPP, DEVRIES, BREEDEN, FLOREZ, ASMUS

Posted By: Sandy Ficken (email)
Date: 11/13/2012 at 14:14:43

John Jensen, 86

Memorial services for John W. Jensen, 86, Plainfield, were held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 31, at the Horton Baptist Church, Horton. He died Friday, Oct. 26, 2012, at the Clarksville Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Clarksville.

Burial was in Horton Cemetery.

Kaiser-Corson Funeral Home, Waverly, was in charge of arrangements. Online condolences may be left at www.kaisercorson.com.

Memorials may be directed to the family.

John William Jensen was born March 28, 1926, in York, Neb., the son of Mathias and Bessie Jensen. The family moved to northeast Iowa in 1941 and he graduated from Dike High School in 1944. Upon graduating, he enlisted in the Marine Corps and served for two years in the South Pacific at the close of World War II.

He married Myrtle L. Shipp May 29, 1948. They had five children. The couple farmed northeast of Plainfield for over 60 years. In addition, he served as a Butler County Farm Bureau fieldman for eight years and as an Iowa State Senator for 24 years, from 1979 to 2002.

He made the restoration, conservation and preservation of the State Capitol his personal passion and professional mission during his tenure in the Iowa Senate and raised public and private funds for the purpose of returning the State Capitol to its full grandeur. His obvious pride in the Capitol building was reflected in the fequent and extensive “fifty-cent tours” he conducted for visiting students, constituents, fellow legislators and state employees.

Jensen is survived by his wife of 64 years; his children, Linda and Don DeVries, Alan and Joelle Jensen, Stanley and Teresa Jensen, Rita Jensen and Carolann Jensen; two brothers, Donald Jensen and Mathias Jensen; 10 grandchildren, Meredith Breeden, Jessica Jensen, Cody Jensen, Lucas DeVries, Adam Breeden, JaneAnn Florez, Emily DeVries, Nick Breeden, Joshua Jensen and Katie Jensen, and 11 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; one sister, Alice Marie Asmus, and two brothers, George Jensen and Robert Lyle Jensen.

The Williamsburg Journal Tribune, Iowa County Obituaries , 08 Nov 2012, pg 13