Jens Eugene Jensen

Jens Jensen, father, husband, son, brother, friend, guitarist, artist, and son of Heavenly Parents, passed away on December 8, 2025, at the age of 70. Born on November 8, 1955, Jens was the second son of Eugene and Patricia Jensen. Raised in the idyllic beauty of Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, with its world-famous lake, gorgeous woods, and small-town values, he lived the kind of less-supervised childhood that would horrify Gen X and millennial parents. At age 13, his family moved to Provo, Utah, as childhood transitioned into adolescence. Jens started high school at Provo High, where he, in spite of loving his art classes, ended up leaving early at age 16. Ultimately, he would finish his education with honors, but that part of the story comes later. When he left high school, he also left home to begin his adult life.

After leaving home, Jens worked in southern Idaho as a cook but eventually decided to train for something a little more lucrative and fulfilling. He liked working with his hands, so he enrolled in the masonry program at Job Corps, which was located in Marsing, Idaho, a few miles south of Nampa. Jens met his first true love, Kris, while doing his laundry at Pro-Clean in Nampa, a laundromat owned by Kris's grandparents, where she held a summer job tending the front counter.

They were married in 1975 in Nampa and went on their honeymoon-to Boise. Kris was 18, and Jens was almost 20. This was at a time when it was more common for people to get married young, even if there was no real financial or life plan in place. Fortunately, their love helped them through those leanest years.

They soon moved to Utah to follow work opportunities for Jens. Their first son, Jeremy, was born (almost nine months to the day after that Boise honeymoon) in bustling Roosevelt, Utah. Their first daughter, Lindsey, followed in 1978, born in Salt Lake City. At this time, Kris's desire to be close to family brought them back to Nampa, where they had three more children: Elijah, Rachael, and Noah. After getting back to Nampa, Kris joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the church that Jens was raised in but is no longer active in. Within a few years, and with a renewed commitment to follow Jesus Christ and His gospel, Jens served in various callings in the church, including as a counselor in the bishopric. Perhaps the calling he loved the most was serving in his ward's Scouting program, where he not only had the opportunity to serve and teach youth but also the chance to make lifelong friends. He also served at various times as a worker in the Boise Idaho temple.

In his career as a mason, he worked on, perhaps, thousands of homes in the Boise area, at a time when, like today, construction was booming all over the valley. However, in 2002, Jens decided that, with as difficult as masonry could be on a body, he couldn't support his family forever in that career. He joined Boise State's nursing program, graduating as valedictorian, and worked in that field for the remainder of his career, specializing in hospice care.

In August 2009, our family's lives, and the lives of countless others, were impacted forever when Kris passed away in a car accident. Jens was driving the car, and Kris, Noah, and Elijah were passengers. Our family was given the opportunity to practice resilience and unconditional love in the face of this tragedy. In 2011, Jens married Susan Cahoon. The couple moved to McCall, where Jens ran the Guild guitar shop and music community space. He worked with various musical groups, including a ukulele club he held near and dear to his heart. Jens and Susan were together for 9 years, enjoying many happy times, before the relationship ended in divorce. At this time, Jens retired from nursing.

In 2020, Jens married Candice Kempton. The marriage was filled with love, best friendship, and mutual understanding. She was Jens's guardian angel, lovingly caring for him amidst health struggles that resulted from strokes he suffered in 2020.

Jens served and touched the lives of so many people over the years, especially in the LDS community in Nampa. He worked hard, and he loved intensely. His caring, advice, humor, and intelligence will be missed by many. Jens is now being happily reunited with his first love, Kris, and his beloved daughter, Rachael, who passed away in 2023.

Jens is survived by his wife, Candice (and her family); his children, Jeremy (Sarin), Lindsey, Elijah, and Noah (Charlotte); his grandchildren Kodee (Sophie), Lily, Josie, Kieler, Sophia, Zack, Sylvia, Drea, Audrey, and Roewyn; his great-grandson Otis; his brothers, Nels and Shaun; and his sisters, Andrea and Celeste. He is preceded in death by his wife, Kris; his daughter, Rachael; his sisters, Capri and Vicki; and his parents, Eugene and Patricia.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, December 20, at the LDS Meetinghouse at 2212 E Amity Ave in Nampa. A viewing will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Friday, December 19, at Zeyer Funeral Chapel, 83 N. Midland Blvd., Nampa, and from 10 to 10:45 a.m. Saturday at the church, prior to the funeral service.