John Harlan JENSEN
JENSEN, BRECKENRIDGE, ROBINSON
Posted By: Sharon R Becker (email)
Date: 9/21/2011 at 04:19:59
OBITUARY ~ JOHN HARLAN JENSEN
January 24, 1919 ~ September 29, 2003John Harlen JENSEN, 84, of Davenport, peacefully passed away on September 29, 2003 at the Park Health Nursing Home in St. Louis Park, MN following a lingering illness. His son, Andrew, was at his side. Weerts Funeral Home, Davenport, is assisting the family with arrangements.
The son of John and Minnie JENSEN, he was born January 24, 1919 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He married Lois Fern BRECKENRIDGE, of Tingley, Iowa, in 1951. She preceded him in death in January of this year.
He graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs in 1936, and later served in the U.S. Army during WWII. He was honorably discharged in 1945 with the rank of Captain following an armed services career which took him to the North African Theatre and Italy.
He worked for the former Northwestern Bell Telephone Company for 34 years and retired in 1978 as a Systems Analyst. During his tenure with Northwestern Bell, he lived and worked in the Iowa communities of Keokuk and Waterloo, and eventually moved to Davenport where he has lived since 1957.
John also spent a great deal of his leisure time in the Vergas, Minnesota area where he owned a lakefront vacation home since 1969. In addition to piloting light aircraft in the late 1950's and 1960's, he enjoyed fishing, hunting, woodworking and refurbishing old machinery and vehicles of many kinds.
He was an active volunteer much of his life, serving as past president of the Iowa branch of the Northwestern Bell Pioneers, a member of the Elks Club, Davenport Central High Booster Club past president, and a parent volunteer with Indian Guides.
Later in his life, John enjoyed traveling to Denmark, the homeland of his father, and also to New York City to visit a longtime friend with whom her served during World War II.
He is survived by a sister, Dorothy JENSEN, Council Bluffs, Iowa; two brothers, Roger JENSEN, Council Bluffs, Iowa and Lester JENSEN, Sioux City, Iowa; two sons, Jim JENSEN, Denver, Colorado, and Andrew JENSEN and his wife, Cyndy, Plymouth, Minnesota; grandchildren, Jessica, Cody, and Jack JENSEN, all of Denver, CO; and step-grandchildren, Jeb and Jordan ROBINSON, Plymouth, MN.
John will be laid to rest beside his wife of 51 years at the Rock Island National Cemetery, Rock Island, Illinois. A memorial service is not currently scheduled, however relatives and friends of the family will be notified when a service is to be held.
Contributions may be made in Johns name to a charity of the donors choice. Condolences may be sent to the JENSEN family in care of the Weerts Funeral Home, 3625 Jersey Ridge Road, Davenport, IA 52807.
John JENSEN was a dedicated and caring husband, father and neighbor, and a friend to people of all walks of life. In his death, we celebrate his passing to a better place and will hold his memory in our hearts forever.
SOURCE: genealogybuff.com
Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, September of 2011
Ringgold Obituaries maintained by Tony Mercer.
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