Verner Jensen Verner Jensen, 85, died Sunday, September 25, 2011, at Courtenay Springs Village Health Center, Merritt Island, Florida, and also under the care of Vitas Hospice. Verner was born on September 21, 1926, in rural South Dakota, to parents Hans and Helga Jensen. He attended one-room schools for eight grades and graduated from Centerville, South Dakota, high school in 1944. Uncle Sam required his services soon after, so early in 1945 he began boot training at the Great Lakes Naval Station in Chicago. He was selected to attend radar school with several more months being spent in school in Chicago. He was then transferred to Treasure Island near San Francisco, where he remained until his discharge in summer 1946. The GI Bill enabled him to enroll at Grand View Junior College, Des Moines, that fall. He then continued his studies at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. In June 1949 he married Elaine Christiansen; they met at Grand View College. From 1950 through 1956, he was a physics instructor in secondary schools in Iowa while also getting an M. S. degree from Iowa State College, Ames. In 1956 he was invited to join the faculty at what later became the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls. He continued in that work for thirty-five years, becoming a professor of physics in 1974. His early naval training had stimulated an interest in physics that lasted a lifetime. Following his retirement in 1991, he and Elaine began to spend winters in Florida to be near their two children. In 1994 he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, which eventually led to a permanent move to Florida in 1999. He belonged to many professional organizations and societies, attending their meetings, giving papers and doing science demonstrations. He spent one academic year at the University of Colorado, Boulder; did research at Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago for a semester; and attended summer conferences at Wesleyan University in Connecticut and at Reed College in Oregon. He also attended a short course at the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, and had a summer of research at the University of Mississippi. His love of music was evident throughout his life. He sang in choruses or choirs at every opportunity and even near the end of his life he might break into song. He was predeceased by his parents, an aunt and uncle, and several relatives in Denmark. He is survived by his wife of sixty-two years, Elaine; his sister, Edna Swihart; a nephew, Fred (Susan) Swihart; a son, Paul (Sharon) Jensen; a daughter, Linda (Steve) Olson; and four grandchildren. Included are several relatives in Denmark. A memorial service will be held at the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, 525 Minutemen Causeway, Cocoa Beach, Florida, at 11 a.m. Monday, October 3. A time of fellowship will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the UNI Foundation, 205 Commons, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614-0282, or to Vitas Hospice Charitable Fund, 4450 West Eau Gallie Boulevard, Suite 250, Melbourne, Florida 32934, or the Miller School of Medicine, Brain Endowment Bank, 1501 NW 9th Ave., Room 4013, Miami, Florida 33136. Copyright Waterloo Courier on-line edition; downloaded September 28, 2011.
