Patrick "Shea" Jansen

Patrick Jansen Obituary

Patrick "Shea" Jansen

St. Cloud - Age 59, of St. Cloud passed away suddenly on April 26, 2018. Preceded in death by parents, Arthur and Lauretta; sister, Marjorie "Mahri" Kintz. Survived by sisters, Mary Ellen (Kurt) Anderson, Lois (Patrick) Riley, Suzanne Jansen, Jean (Michael) Schaefer, Jacquelyn (Ken) Lierman and nieces, nephews, and friends. A private memorial service will be held.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by St. Cloud Times on May 6, 2018.

Memories and Condolences
for Patrick Jansen

Sponsored by the St. Cloud Times.

7 Entries

Michael Parker

August 18, 2020

Rest in peace my old friend. May God bless you now with peace.

Rob Harris

May 28, 2018

I was saddened to hear the news about Pat. He and I grew up together in St Cloud and our mothers were also friends going back to childhood. During our high school years, we played on a few intermural teams at Cathedral, and went on summer bicycle trips to Duluth and Ripley State Park. Pat was like an older brother to me then, teaching me how to camp out and pace myself for a long trek. Pat and I were roommates back in the early 1980s when he acquired the name Shea, and I rarely referred to him by his given name after that
Following college, Shea moved to Texas, but we remained close friends. Because he worked for Aerican Eagle Airlines, he was able to travel by air cheaply and enjoyed doing so whenever he could. We connected up on trips for weeks at a time in the early 1990s, taking trains and buses across western and central Europe, from France to Poland to Hungary to Bulgaria to Turkey. Shea and I also took a few trips to South America, where we visited La Paz, Bolivia, Machu Picchu, Peru and San Augustine, Colombia.
Shea was that rare type of person who loved to travel with nothing more than a skeleton of a plan, letting events unfold and new friends emerge to liven things up. He had an unquenchable thirst for figuring out where the fun was and who the fun was going to be had with; he had the tenacity to drag as many of us as he could along with him. His skill at making fast friends turned ordinary encounters into memorable social events. He frequently used his Airline job to later visit people we had met on these trips in their home countries. Shea liked to stay in touch.
Shea had a great sense of humor. My first recollection of him, when I was just 7 or 8 years old, was laughing hysterically while he performed with a ventriloquist doll his sister Mahrii had given him. He collected books and records by all the great humorists, including Mark Twain, George Carlin, Hunter S Thompson, Garrison Keillor and many others, and he developed a real talent for Gonzo style story telling. His post cards defied the typical formula and usually contained pithy gems like: Four out of five beach bums surveyed (including me) say that the beaches in Cancun are great! One card from Istanbul read, It's a noisy city. It doesn't help that the taxi drivers communicate in Morse code using their horns.
Shea could be very generous with his free time, helping friends with home improvement projects. But mostly he liked to relax and enjoy life. Shea had a real appreciation for art. Whether it was painting, sculpture, music, film or theatre, he usually had a well thought out opinion about it. He also enjoyed the stage, too, acting in a few Indie films and community plays and always willing to strum on guitar with anyone who wanted to jam. Shea had a real gift for language; fluent in French and good in Spanish or Greek, he could communicate with just about anyone
He was the first real environmentalist I ever met. A vegetarian for over 20 years, Shea was extremely conscientious about his impact on planet Earth. It is truly sad that he left early. There were many more trips yet to go on, many more people who would have enjoyed meeting Shea and listening to his rare voice. I hope he has found peace. My condolences to Shea's family and friends.

Tony Schleper

May 16, 2018

World traveler.Airline dispatcher.Salmon fisherman.Green,helped keep a green corner of the city from becoming another apartment complex.Took care of parents.Eagle scout.Good friend,generous when able.Grade school,high school. Wish I would have spent more time with him. To Pat's sisters nieces and nephews,very sorry for your loss.

Rick Carlin

May 13, 2018

Such sad news to hear about Pat.
We were great friends when we were kids and spent a lot of time together. I still remember how he drove his motorcycle all the way to Fargo to come and visit me when I was living there. May God have mercy on his soul, and may he rest in peace.

Fran Stearns

May 9, 2018

In loving memory of a wonderful person, will love you and miss you always.

Sharon & Shane MORGAN

May 7, 2018

You shall be missed.

Sharon Morgan

May 7, 2018

Very sad news, recently recieved a letter tried to call number provided but no answer. Shea was a college roommate and I was looking forward to catching up. I will miss him.

Showing 1 - 7 of 7 results