Matthew Jensen

1968 - 2018

Matthew Jensen

Reno - On April 4, 2018, Matthew Lee Jensen passed away quietly at St Mary's Regional Medical Center in Reno, Nev., far too quietly for the resulting cavernous hole he left in his family, friends and community.

Matt was born in Corvallis, Oregon. He was the son of Lon Jensen and Fern Jensen. He was raised by his mother, Fern, with his older siblings, Sue and Tom. His youth there colored his perspective on life in general from that point on. He always had a hardiness that was developed in the woods and mountains around Corvallis. It was fine-tuned during his stint working in a sawmill during school and he carried it with him in his dedication to flannel shirts and broken-in work gloves. Matt took pieces of his life experiences and melded them into himself. He never rejected a part of his history for being "uncool" or not presenting the popular image. Every part of his life was incorporated openly into himself and presented without hesitation. He was who he was.

After graduating from Corvallis High School in 1986, Matt began his college life at Oregon State University as an Engineering Major. He had an eye for analysis and for mechanics. But soon he realized that designing and building physical things wasn't the best application of his abilities. It was apparent that his real talent lay in designing and building ideas and thoughts, reasoning and argument, less tangible but potentially more impactful efforts. Matt liked making an impact. He packed up and moved to Southern California and enrolled in Cal State University, Fullerton to finish his undergraduate degree with an eye toward then going to law school. And not surprisingly, he was successful at that, ultimately being accepted to Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, a very prestigious university, and getting his law degree.

Matt prospered in Southern California becoming a fixture in his suburban Orange County neighborhoods during his undergraduate years and in downtown L.A. during his law school days. Although it was a rough neighborhood, he would ride his bike from his house to the law school library every day. The neighborhood homeless and drug dealers and prostitutes would wave and say hello as he went by. That was Matt. To him they were people like everyone else and deserving of the same respect he would show anyone else. And they returned his respect. But that didn't keep him from climbing into his bathtub when the midnight gunfire started up.

His connection to Reno started during law school when he clerked for Judge Mills Lane between his second and third year. He immediately appreciated Reno. And he extolled its virtues to many friends in that understated manner that made you just accept that of course, everything he was saying was gospel and made perfect sense. He recognized that Nevada in general and Reno in particular was a place where he could be comfortable with both the intellectual and the rustic parts of his personality.

After graduation, he moved to Reno permanently and started his law career with the District Attorney's office in Carson City. Over the next few years he rotated between the City of Reno and the Nevada Attorney General's office with a brief stint in private practice. But private practice wasn't for him and he returned to the public sector and to the Nevada Attorney General's office and the City Attorney's office in Reno.

And while all this education and career was important to Matt, he found his real purpose in family. Matt married his first wife Carolyn (Lina) Tanner in 2003 and had a son, Tanner Thomas Jensen. Tanner was every bit a spunky fireball with a level of emotional intelligence that surprised most people. As a baby, Tanner was diagnosed with a rare cancer leading to years of treatments in San Francisco. In the end, however, there was nothing further that could be done and Tanner passed away shortly after his fourth birthday. And, as so often happens in these situations, Tanner's passing also signaled the end of Matt and Lina's marriage.

There are some who might call Matt Jensen a "drill sergeant." And in some cases, they'd probably be right. But not being able to save his son's life, having to concede that the end was beyond his control, had a profound impact on Matt. Understandably, he became a bit more reserved and introspective. He became engrossed in making small wire-form sculptures. And he became obsessed with bowling. Two times a week he would have a standing game at the local lanes that anyone was welcome to join in. Sunday morning bowling became his temporary religion.

It was during this time in his life when he was searching for answers in ten pins, found clothing, and JB Weld that his real answer fell right in his lap. He met Shannon MacLellan…again. They had been acquainted when he first came to Reno, but had been pulled separate ways. And just when he needed her, the currents of their lives swirled back and brought them together again. And he was happy. He had been happy, but this was the old Matt Jensen happiness. The big open-mouthed laugh. Making monkey faces. Guttural singing of heavy metal lyrics in the car. And then, with the birth of Molly, they became a complete family, and Matt was even happier.

It would be easy for someone in Matt's situation to react to losing a child by becoming overly protective of his next child. But Matt rarely reacted without fully analyzing a situation and he would not allow himself to restrict Molly's experiences because of his fears. He relished and encouraged her adventures and held his own concerns in check. Because that's what Matt Jensen did.

Matt will be missed by his wife, Shannon; daughter, Molly; sister, Sue Buckendorf, and brother-in-law, Don Buckendorf, of Salem, Ore.; brother, Tom Jensen, and sister-in-law, Maureen Jensen, of Corvallis, Ore.; numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and other relatives; and by all of us who were fortunate enough to have known him.

A celebration of Matt will be held at the River School in Reno on Saturday, April 28th from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Matt and Tanner's memory to the St. Baldrick's Foundation and its mission fight and cure childhood cancer, https://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/972864/2018.

Matt Jensen was a man of integrity without arrogance, opinions without animosity, a free-spirit without being capricious, an intellectual without being snobbish, a teacher and a learner, a neighbor and a friend, a father and husband. But all of that can be reduced to one simple statement: Matt Jensen was a good man.

On April 4, 2018, Matthew Lee Jensen passed away quietly at St Mary's Regional Medical Center in Reno, Nev., far too quietly for the resulting cavernous hole he left in his family, friends and community.