Eldred Wallace Jensen

Eldred Wallace Jensen

Mar. 19, 1923 – Apr. 20, 2010

Eldred Wallace Jensen was a hard working, friendly, outgoing individual, whose life was filled with people, pranks, and friendship. Despite numerous trials and tribulations, he lived to make others laugh. He was born on March 19, 1923 in Prosser, WA to Peter Jensen and Catherine Hopkins Jensen. He grew up on a farm during the Depression and spent his early years in Washington state. His family later moved to Lovell, WY where he worked on the family farm and at a dairy. He had two older brothers, Virgil Sanders and Elden Sanders, and a younger brother, Marvin Jensen, who died as an infant when Red was a child.

He married Dawnelle Caudill while living in Lovell, WY in 1941 and fathered his first son, Eldred Duane Jensen in 1943.

In 1943, he was inducted into the armed services and joined the Navy. During the war, he attended electrician school at the University of Minnesota. Before his discharge in 1946, he achieved the rank of EM3. His duty stations also included Bremerton, WA and Pearl Harbor.

He received a commendation from the Navy for his actions after an explosion that occurred during an ammunition handling operation. He also received the Asiatic-Pacific Area Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.

Red returned home from the war and worked as an oil field worker and fathered his second son, Richard Dwight Jensen in 1947. He worked as a clerk for the Skaggs Drug Store in Billings, MT. In 1950 he fathered a third son, Dean Stuart Jensen. His first marriage ended in divorce in 1951.

In 1952, he met and married Joan Joyce Lynde. He fathered his fourth son, Ronald Lynne Jensen, in 1954. During this time, Red became the assistant manager for Skaggs and was assigned to a variety of locations around the country. Finally, in 1962, he got his first Skaggs store as general manager in Phoenix, AZ. The same year he fathered his fifth and final son, Stephen Nels Jensen. He was later transferred to Ogden, UT. In 1967, he was transferred to the Denver Skaggs at Lakeside where he worked for ten years. Due to his generous nature, he sacrificed his own free time in order to allow his assistant managers more time with their families.

In 1975, after 23 years of marriage, his wife Joan passed away. Three years later, he remarried to Elizabeth Arnold. During the last five years at Skaggs he was assigned to the Skaggs district office in Littleton, overseeing all of the advertising and sales promotions within the region. Because this new position took him away from his biggest joy, interacting with people, he decided to retire. He retired from Skaggs in 1982 after 35 years.

His drive to care for others, mixed with his compassion for people in need, drove him to provide excellent care to his sick wife, Elizabeth, throughout her illness. She passed away in 1999.

He was a member of the Wheat Ridge Garden Club for several years. Much of what he grew was donated to various charities in Wheat Ridge. Making friends was easy for him, which is why he had so many in this club. Gardening and making friends were his greatest hobbies. He cherished his acquaintances so much that he spent countless afternoons having lunch with his Skaggs buddies. His long kept ties to these friends from his working years, brought much comfort and joy during his retirement.

He also worked as a volunteer for the Colorado State University Extension Service, providing gardening and botanic advice to the public. He received a citation from the college for his work with the program.

He was successful in all he did, from dealing with his diabetes to real estate and investments. Despite his successes, he continued to live very frugally – he always said the Depression left habits in him he never left or forgot. The rewards of his success were always directed towards the benefit of others.

Red was known for his loyalty, honesty, and sincerity. He always lived up to his word, gave people the benefit of the doubt and a fair shake. Although Red was not a religious man, he had the highest standards of morals and values. He was raised in a family where his mother was Mormon and his father was Lutheran. The values he learned from childhood were obvious to everyone who knew him.

For about the last three years of his life, Red's involvement with social activities greatly decreased, although his sometimes mischievous sense of humor never failed him. The effects of age, diabetes, and heart problems slowly caught up with him, although he never allowed them to stop his social outings. During the years from 2000 to 2010, he was in the company of his friend Susan Chu, who provided support and comfort to him at the time of his greatest need. He was able to go out to eat, as recently as the month before he died. He still enjoyed playing cards and socializing with neighbors and friends. As he was facing death, he accepted it with the resolve and calm typical of him all his life. He was in the care of Mary Swanson who, with Susan, was at his side when he took his last peaceful breath at 5:34 p.m. on April 20, 2010.

He is survived by three sons – Dean, Ron and Stephen; nine grandchildren – Erik, Shiela, Jaclyn, Jonathon, Jacob, Stephanie, Kristine, James, and Sarah – and two great-grandchildren – Zoe and Gwen.

Red was many things to many people – husband, father, grandfather, uncle, brother, friend, advisor. He was a farmer, a sailor, a businessman, a landlord. He was affectionately known by several nicknames: "Swede," (even though he was Danish,) "Red," and "Boogerred," to name a few. But to anyone who knew him, he was above all fair, caring, and honest. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him. YCDBSOYA.