February 28, 1930 ~ June 3, 2020 (age 90)On June 3, 2020 our beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend, Hal R. Jensen passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family. He was 90 years old.
Prompted to write his own obituary, he crafted the following: “I was born February 28, 1930 to Fred and Luella Jensen in their home in Providence, Utah. I had a lot of fun as a kid in that small town with my friends. I loved sports. I played tennis, softball, baseball, football and basketball. My dad took me fishing which I learned to love. I also liked to hunt pheasants, deer, elk and ducks. In 1949 on August 4th I married a beautiful girl, Norine Poulsen, in the Logan Temple. We were the proud parents of a beautiful daughter, Jacque and three rather homely sons, Kevin, Mitchell and Jay. These four have added 20 grandchildren and 34 great-grandchildren to our lives. They are a great and special blessing. We had a good life and now I am ready for the next step in this wonderful plan of eternal life. I have loved this step and the beautiful land that our Father in Heaven and his son Jesus Christ created for us.”
As his family, we know there is so much more to say about this remarkable man than the brief and humble words he penned. His work ethic, integrity, love of the river and nature, and lifelong pursuits to learn new things has been an inspiration to all who know him.
Hal graduated from South Cache High School where he excelled in sports. He played quarterback on the football team, point guard on the basketball team, catcher on the baseball team, and also played tennis where he won the singles championship and represented the region at the state tournament. He also excelled in debate. He earned an athletic scholarship to Utah State where he played both football and basketball. He and his teammate, LaVell Edwards, were assigned to clean the locker room daily, which he admitted they did once or twice during the semester. It was while at Utah State he met the beautiful coed, Norine Poulsen, who would become his wife.
After their marriage in the Logan Temple, they moved to Ogden where they raised their family and pursued ambitious business opportunities. With a handshake and a dream, he and his younger brother, Steve, bought a small tire business. Five years later, Steve—not only his brother, but his best friend was tragically killed in an automobile accident related to the 1958 earthquake in Yellowstone while fishing in Montana. Despite this staggering loss, Hal went on to build Jensen Brothers Tire Company into a very successful business that was sold upon his retirement.
Later in life, when he became more active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints, he was called to be Bishop of the North Ogden Fifth Ward. He was totally devoted to his calling. He loved serving the people of the ward and they loved him.
Hal exhibited his lifelong love of learning in many ways: getting up before dawn to perfect his golf game before going to work, learning to play the piano in his 60’s, getting his pilots license, making beautiful things out of wood, and becoming a world-class fisherman who tied his own flies. He showed amazing patience as he taught others to fly fish, many times sacrificing his own fishing time to untangle lines or select the perfect fly. Once while teaching a grandchild to fish, he watched his prized unattended fishing rod float down the river. He saw two more rods snapped off when they got rolled up in a car window. No matter: people were always more important to him than things. In fact, he often said that the first thing he was going to do when he got to heaven was tell his Grandpa Frank that he was sorry for burning down his barn when he was a young boy playing with matches: “ I always felt so bad about that, but I don’t think I ever told him how sorry I was.”
He is survived by his wife and devoted companion of almost 71 years, Norine Jensen and his four children and their spouses: Jacque and Jeff Poore, Kevin and Collette Jensen, Mitchell and Lausanne Jensen and Jay and Kaydeen Jensen. Hal and Norine have 20 grandchildren and 34 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his 9 brothers and sisters and an infant granddaughter.
Our deepest thanks to the hospice care workers that helped us as a family to care for him at home during his last week of life. They are true angels and were such blessing to us. We will have a small family gathering to honor his life and he will be laid to rest in the Ben Lomond Cemetery, 526 East 2850 North, North Ogden, Utah at 12:00 noon on Saturday, June 6, 2020.
Condolences and memories may be shared with the family at Myers Mortuary