(Sioux City)– The Lakes Area has lost another well known person. Irving Jensen of Sioux City, who was also a lakes area resident, passed away earlier this week. Irving Jensen was extremely well known in both communities for his philanthropy. His grandson, Alex Kent, tells KUOO news for Irving when it came to a project he was involved with it was all or nothing…
“It shows greatly in everything he has done. Whether it be, like I said, the Orpheum Theatre here in Sioux City, Iowa, the carousel in Okoboji at Arnolds Park, helping to secure wetlands for the DNR up there around the lakes to preserve certain areas. If he believed in it he was going to do it 100 percent.”
Irving also played an integral part in battling the flood of 1993 in the Iowa Great Lakes and provided input into plans to mitigate future flood events. He was also the longtime owner of a road construction company that was awarded numerous state contracts, including the three and four-lane expansion of Highway 71 through the lakes corridor.
Kent says the passing of his grandfather within just a couple of days of the antique wooden and classic boat show, which will be going on this weekend at Arnolds Park, is ironic. Kent says Irving was one of the founders of the organization that puts on the event each year…
“It was early ’80’s when they had the first show and some of the early shows were over at the Emporium. We’ve had some of the most iconic boats in the world at our show because my grandfather would get them to come. As it turns out now, the club, I and my cousin actually run, with a few other people, and Paul Hedberg was always very good to talk to us on the day of the show and the last five years my grandfather was always down there with us and he would talk to us and then he would always say well we’re going to hear from the real boss, now, and he’d talk to my grandpa.”
A funeral service for Irving Jensen will be held Monday at the Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City. A link to view a live stream of the service online can be found by clicking here.
