"Karen - i was so sorry to hear about George. I worked with him at Meadow Lakes Senior Living. He was so kind to our residents and always had a smile. I remember when we all visited you at your beautiful cabin home. I will remember him fondly. Colette Miles"
In loving memory of
Pastor George N. Jensen
February 13, 1936 - March 11, 2014
A memorial service for Pastor George N. Jensen, 78, of Rochester, MN will be at 11:00am on Friday, March 14, 2014 at Zumbro Lutheran Church.Visitation will be from 5:00 8:00pm on Thursday, March 13, 2014 at Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Homes and also one hour prior to the service at the church.Inurnment will be in the church columbarium.
George Nichols Jensen was born on Febraury 13, 1936 in Oneonta, NY to Knud and Aldyth (Nichols) Jensen.He died on March 11, 2014 at Charter House in Rochester.
George graduated from the University of South Dakota in Vermilion and served two years in the United States Army. After he was discharged, he graduated from Luther Seminary in St. Paul and later the University of Minnesota in Nursing Home Administration.He served churches in Fremont, OH, Austin, Moscow and Oakland, MN and Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Rochester.He retired in 1998 from the Chosen Valley Care Center in Chatfield.George married Edith A. Hanson in 1964 and they were later divorced.He married Karen Pearson Teske in 1986.
George loved the outdoors.He enjoyed backpacking in Colorado and Montana, canoeing the Boundary Waters, motorcycling, bicycling and camping.He was an avid fan of Gopher Sports.
Survivors include his wife, Karen Jensen of Rochester, MN; daughters, Julie (Randy) Beck of Cocoa, FL, Laura (Jon) Ware of Mashpee, Mass and Kristin (Mark) Pretasky of LaCrosse, WI; step children, Sue (Mike) O'Brien of St. Paul, MN and Jacob (Kate) Teske of Huntersville, NC; grandchildren, Nathan, Sean, Max, Kody, Luke, Joey, Julia, Brita, Anna and Elyanna; sisters, Dorothy Kingsmore of Colorado Springs, CO and Fran (John) Schuyler of Rochester, NY and his former wife, Edith.He was preceded in death by his parents and one sister, Mary Jensen.
Memorials can be directed to Seasons Hospice or the Zumbro Lutheran Choir.
Tributes
"Dear Karen and Family My thoughts and prayers are with you all. George was such a caring and delightful soul. I have such wonderful memories of him from when Doug worked at the care center with him and from all our riding times together. He will no doubt be greatly missed but will be with you all in your memories and hearts. With heartfelt sympathy Meg"
"George was my pastor when, in 1983, at age nine, my father passed away. He came to our home in the middle of the night, and I remember him being a source of great comfort for my mom and me. As an adult, we reconnected when I was on staff at Zumbro Lutheran. He was able to talk about that specific night with great clarity and detail. As a pastor, I am sure that he made dozens and dozens of such calls, and I was deeply impressed, and touched, that he was able to recall the events with such detail. As an adult, I deeply appreciated this shared memory and George's willingness to express it. His pastoral actions--several decades apart from each other--stand out in my mind, and have helped make that horrible situation a little bit easier. I am thankful for George's role in my life."
"My sincere condolences to George's family. I worked with George from midnight - 8am at Super America on North Broadway many years ago. I always looked forward to working with George, as I always knew it would be a great evening of getting a lot of work done along with some great conversation. He truly was one of a kind and I will miss him."
"May God be with the Jensen family and give them peace. I thank Pastor Jensen for his ministry at Grace Lutheran Church, Fremont, Ohio. I remember 8th grade catechism classes and camp."