James Jensen

James E. Jensen, 79, of Wendell, died Tuesday, February 03, 2009, at the ELEAH Medical Center in Elbow Lake. Funeral services for James E. Jensen will be held at 11:00 am Saturday, February 7, at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Wendell with Dr. Eugene Boe officiating. Burial will be in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery, Wendell. Friends may call at the Erickson-Smith Funeral Home on Friday from 4-7pm; visitation will resume at the church on Saturday one hour before services. James Ernest Jensen was born on March 29, 1929, at home in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His family moved to Hewitt where he attended the Hewitt Public School; they returned to Minneapolis where he graduated from the South High School in 1947. Jim attended the Brown Institute in Minneapolis for two years studying in Radio Broadcasting and Music. He then served with the U.S. Air Force from March 1, 1951, to September 8, 1952, as an Air Policeman in Korea, receiving the Korean Service Medal. Jimmie and Mary Louise Andor were married on October 23, 1970, in the Twin Cities area where their two children, Tim and Mary, were born. In 1985, they returned to Grant County and in 1993 they moved into their home in Wendell. Jim had worked as a police officer in Fargo; in Minneapolis he was employed as a truck driver for Wintz Trucking and then drove for 3M, both out of St. Paul. During this time he was also playing music with his band, "The Jimmie Jensen Country Westerners," where he played several instruments. For five weeks in 1959, he performed in Florida with Elvis Presley, during which time he was playing bass because Elvis's bass player had hurt his hand. Jimmie always took the time to put others in front of himself. He had a gentle giving spirit. He is survived by his children Mary Beck and Tim (Connie) Jensen all of Fergus Falls, Kurt (Sandy) Kincaid and Terry (Mary) Kincaid all of Minneapolis, and Kevin Mcgandy of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia; 15 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren; sister-in-law Ethel Leibold of Fergus Falls, and numerous relatives and friends. Jim was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Mary Louise on October 10, 2005; one son, Larry Kincaid; one daughter, Kim Kincaid; one brother, Harry Leibold, and by two sisters, Mildred Hulfe and Frieda Steieg.

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