Willard Jenson

Memorial services for Willard (Bill) Otis Jenson, age 92, of Blue Earth, formerly of Kiester, MN, will be held at Patton Funeral Home, 400 E 14th St., Blue Earth, MN with Pastor Joel DeNeui officiating. Services will be held on Thursday, April 16th, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. with visitation one hour prior to the service. Burial will be at the Fairview Cemetery, on Hwy. 22 north of Kiester, MN.Due to complications related to congestive heart failure, Bill went home to be with his Lord and Savior on Tuesday, March 31, 2015, in Pensacola, Florida, where he was spending the winter with his daughter and her husband. He was born on a farm near Kiester, MN, on June 26, 1922, the son of Eddie and Kathryn (Ashpole) Jenson. He grew up in Thompson, Iowa, which is where he attended school. Bill was drafted into the United States Army in 1942, serving on the front lines during World War II, hauling ammo and working as a mechanic repairing half-track vehicles. He spent 600 days in a combat zone in Europe before being discharged in the fall of 1945. He was proud to be an American and proud to have served his country in the military for the sake of protecting United States and its freedoms.On Dec. 23, 1948, Bill married the love of his life, Irene M. Kruger. To this union they were blessed with two children, Julie and Terry. Bill was the owner/operator for 39 years of Jenson Motor Service in Kiester, MN. In his retirement years, he purchased an acreage near Huntley, MN, where he raised cattle and had horses. He loved horses, calf roping and playing his accordion. He also worked for a number of years as a custodian at the wayside rest on I-90 near Blue Earth, MN. He was a natural cowboy from hat to boots, from horses to dairy cows, from bailing hay to tractors in the fields. He was a hard worker from sun up till sun down and taught his kids and grandkids how to be the same. His love for music was shown in the way he played accordion, coaching his children as they grew up learning to play, and entertaining his grandkids while they danced around him and giggled to the tune of his favorite polka song, Bill is survived by his children, Julie (Donald) Hoffman, Winnebago, MN, Terry (Ihlene) Jenson, Blue Earth, MN, seven grandchildren, Heidi (Terry) Lange, Nicci (Daniel) Helms, Colette (Nate) Witter, Tara Jenson, Micah (Heidi) Jenson, Taylor (Michelle) Jenson, Kasee (Rob) Bogle, 20 great-grandchildren, brother-in-law Clayton Kruger, sister-in-law Mildred Grady, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Irene, his older brother, Norval, and his twin brother, Warren.