Howard E. Jensen

Howard Edgar Jensen of Chalfont, Pennsylvania passed away on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020 of natural causes.  He was born January 12, 1928 in the Town of Maine, Broome County, New York.  Howard was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, enlisting in January 1946 and serving for two years before attending Cornell University on a ROTC scholarship where he graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1952.  It was at Cornell that Howard met Dorothy (Rosenberger), his wife of 65 years.  Upon graduation, Howard was commissioned as an Ensign and served on the U.S.S. Cushing (DD 797) in the Pacific during the Korean War.
Growing up on a dairy farm in Vestal, NY during the Great Depression, Howard experienced the challenges of daily farm chores as part of an extended family struggling to make ends meet amidst the economic upheaval.  He shared the memory of the day his father drove off in a brand new Buick and returned with a used Model A Ford, followed shortly after by a relocation to Landisville, PA where his father had landed a job selling farm silos.  In Landisville, Howard developed a hobby of collecting match books discarded by motorists during daily walks along Highway 30 between his house and town.  Returning to Vestal in 1940, the newly built family home was the first time Howard lived somewhere with indoor plumbing.  Always with an eye to try new experiences, Howard obtained his pilot’s license during high school, taking advantage of a U.S. Government program to train pilots by paying for their flight time.

Howard spent his working career as a sales support engineer for material handling systems, which enabled him to travel all over the United States.  He served several years as a volunteer member of the Chalfont City Water Board.  He also loved to sail, competing in local regattas and one time in the Sunfish World Championships.  Between his Navy service, work and travel, Howard visited 50 U.S. states and all 7 continents, including Antarctica for his 75th birthday.  He also participated in 3 annual reenactments of Washington’s Crossing of the Delaware Christmas Day.
Howard is survived by his wife Dottie, his daughter Nancy Dawson of Colorado Springs, Colorado, his son Roger of Beaverton, Oregon, his brother Robert of Bozeman, Montana, and his sister Audrey Davis of Omaha, Nebraska.  He was pre-deceased by his brother Ronald in 2012.