Sitting back and reading the stories of “Growing up Jensen” I smile, chuckle a little, and think of my dear “Father-in-Law”, Merle Jensen. There are no two families alike, just as there are no two people alike. As I entered this new family, as in my own family, the one constant, and confidant had been my Father, and so it was in Family Jensen. Both fathers were the stabilizing force in these worlds. It was interesting as the outsider to sit back and view through the picture window this world of Jensen. Eileen was, and still needs to be the center of attention; just her personality. Merle on the other hand was the wing beneath her wings. He supported her, balanced her sometimes unorthodox logic, and gave total unconditional love. Merle always took second stage, not only to his wife, but to his children and grandchildren as well. He could fix anything from wiring on a stove that mice had decided to make a home in while stored in the garage, installing fencing, planting a garden, and working on car transmissions. He was a listener, a study in observance and then action. Never failing to call a son or daughter late in the afternoon as his work was winding down, just to see how the week had been, to find out how those special “someone’s” in their lives were doing. Ready at a moments notice to help move one of his kids from apartment to apartment or new house, to drive to kingdom come on a whim to see the Mississippi River, go to church on a Sunday morning 2 hours away or drive to Minneapolis to do whatever the dear “Deighton Girls” needed. He could pack a car or truck and get more in than any professional mover could ever dream of, and drive cross country on 2 hours sleep.
Dad sat back at family gatherings and took simple pleasure in watching his children, now all adults, joke, laugh, play practical jokes and laugh some more. He possessed a wonderfully dry sense of humor, a jovial belly laugh when something struck his funny bone, always ready to make the next Mai Tai, or grab a beer from the fridge, he was the perfect host. A small town farm kid that went to college, had a long successful career with IBM, a self made man of many attributes, but the most endearing was the love of his children. He glowed in their success, because it was his as well. Dad was the balancing scales in Family Jensen, a gentle and loving patriarch who could dish out discipline fitting the crime, but was also the guiding light by which all four children flourished in his love and respect. He was practical, logical, funny, caring, full of mischief when the time came, and most of all loving.
If nothing else Dad was a constant, so much like my own Father. The day that I became a Jensen my own Father was in the hospital waiting until I “became a married lady” to have surgery. Merle had called me two days prior and volunteered in his own sweet and sensitive way to walk me down the aisle. I was so shocked and surprised by his thoughtfulness. My brother walked me down the aisle, but it was Merle John Carl Jensen that was the first to take a small town country girl in his arms on her wedding day, give her a hug and kiss and proclaim, now I have a third daughter. Yes, this was a man of many attributes, depth of soul and heart, of love for his family, a constant in all our lives; and a man who loved his children more than life itself.
Dad sat back at family gatherings and took simple pleasure in watching his children, now all adults, joke, laugh, play practical jokes and laugh some more. He possessed a wonderfully dry sense of humor, a jovial belly laugh when something struck his funny bone, always ready to make the next Mai Tai, or grab a beer from the fridge, he was the perfect host. A small town farm kid that went to college, had a long successful career with IBM, a self made man of many attributes, but the most endearing was the love of his children. He glowed in their success, because it was his as well. Dad was the balancing scales in Family Jensen, a gentle and loving patriarch who could dish out discipline fitting the crime, but was also the guiding light by which all four children flourished in his love and respect. He was practical, logical, funny, caring, full of mischief when the time came, and most of all loving.
If nothing else Dad was a constant, so much like my own Father. The day that I became a Jensen my own Father was in the hospital waiting until I “became a married lady” to have surgery. Merle had called me two days prior and volunteered in his own sweet and sensitive way to walk me down the aisle. I was so shocked and surprised by his thoughtfulness. My brother walked me down the aisle, but it was Merle John Carl Jensen that was the first to take a small town country girl in his arms on her wedding day, give her a hug and kiss and proclaim, now I have a third daughter. Yes, this was a man of many attributes, depth of soul and heart, of love for his family, a constant in all our lives; and a man who loved his children more than life itself.
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