Richard Jensen

The Mass of Christian Burial for Richard Eugene Jensen of Wadena will be held at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, October 31, 2012 at the St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Wadena with Father Tim Wenzel presiding. Friends may call at the Johnson-Schuller Chapel in Wadena on Tuesday from 5:00 until 8:00 PM, with Parish Prayers to be held at 5:30 PM and Knights of Columbus Rosary at 7:00 PM, and again at the church on Wednesday from 9:30 AM until the time of Mass. Richard passed away at the age of 78 years on Friday, October 26, 2012 at the St. Cloud Hospital in St. Cloud. Richard was born on September 7, 1934 to Frank and Jessie (Mosier) Jensen at Ellendale, MN. He was diagnosed at age 7 with Becker Muscular Dystrophy. After the death of his father, he moved with his mother to Park Rapids then to a farm west of Sebeka where they milked Jersey & Guernsey cattle until her age & his health made it too difficult. He attended Alexandria Technical College in the 1960’s to study food service management. After the death of his mother Richard moved into Wadena where he lived until his death. Richard began using a wheelchair fulltime when he was 55 and thus spent 23 years wheelchair bound. He did not let that keep him from being interested in a myriad of things. He read extensively, fiction of the 1920’s & 30’s being his favorite, as well as magazines & books about farming, nature, conservation & anything else that took his fancy. In the most recent years he sat at the computer & looked up all sorts of information on the internet. He was a great lover of flowers & encouraged the planting of large varieties of them, especially perennials. He supported ecology & conservation and was especially interested in the preservation of rare domestic animals. He prided himself on wanting to know what was true & right and expressed outrage at any acts of cruelty to others. Richard was a member of the Knights of Columbus, Audubon Society, Nature Conservancy and the Northern Minnesota Draft Horse Association Richard now is free from all pain & is able to see clearly the answers to the many things he wanted to know. Richard was preceded in death by his parents Frank and Jessie; brother Howard; and step-daughter Kara Circle. He is survived by his significant other Betty (Myott) Circle; step-daughters Kathy (Terry Carpenter) Circle of Fargo, Teresa Circle of Fargo and Bernadette (Tammy Mehr) Circle of St. Cloud; sister Elaine (Alfred) Wondra of Blooming Prairie, MN; and four nieces, 3 nephews and many great nieces and nephews. Honorary pallbearers will be Tom Wondra, Judy Malloy, Mary Goff, Pat Motl, Ann Winzenberg, Al Wondra and Joe Wondra. Pallbearers will be Terry Carpenter, Tom Sellnow, Doug Goff, Steve Winzenberg, Phil Thoennes and David F. Mertens. Interment will be in the Calvary Cemetery in Wadena. Arrangements are with the Schuller Family Funeral Homes in Wadena. (wwwSchullerFamilyFH.com)

Richard Jensen

September 7, 1934 - October 26, 2012