Wayne Irvin Jensen, 84, of Huntington, died April 25, 2007, at the Presbyterian Community Care Center in Ontario.
There will be a veterans memorial service in his honor at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 12, at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall in Huntington.
He was born Oct. 12, 1922, at Baker City. The family lived on a farm near Pleasant Valley where Wayne grew up. He was a 1940 Baker High School graduate.
He then worked for Art Roumagoux as a gas attendant and handyman. He stayed with his sister and her husband, Francis and Muriel Roumagoux.
He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on Jan. 5, 1942, and served during World War II on Guam, the Marianas, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, Bougainville and BSI. He participated in the consolidation of the northern and southern Solomon Islands and in the occupation of Japan.
He was honorably discharged Jan. 7, 1946, when he returned to his job at Huntington and worked for Roumagoux until he bought the block and businesses from him in 1958.
He remained a resident of Huntington for the rest of his life, serving a term as mayor and two terms as city councilman. He was a lifelong member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, No. 3749, where he served many years as its quartermaster.
His business enterprises consisted of delivering gasoline to the construction of the Brownlee Reservoir and the construction of Interstate 84. He also delivered heating oil to the homes of Huntington in addition to running his gas station, grocery store, motel units and wrecker service.
Survivors include his loving wife of 27 years, Dorothy June; four sisters, Muriel Roumagoux of Portland, Mildred Stringer of Tacoma, Wash., Norma Long of Baker City and Iva Brehmer and her husband, Ed, of Baker City; two brothers, Ivan Jensen, and his wife, Margaret, of Baker City, and Lloyd Jensen and his wife, Carolyn, of Bly; five sons, Alan Jensen of Grants Pass, Keith Jensen and his wife, Gail, of Medical Lake, Wash., Chris and his wife, Rose Mary, of Belfair, Wash., Richard Jensen and his wife, Judy, and Roger Jensen, all of Huntington; two stepsons, James L. Keyser, and his wife, Patti, of Rockaway, and Herbert L. Keyser, and his wife, Laura, of Huntington; one stepdaughter, Eva Lynn Winje, and her husband, Michael, of Salem; 17 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his first wife, Noreen, who was the mother of his eldest three sons; his second wife, Janet, was the mother of his two youngest. They were divorced.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to a charity of one’s choice through Gray’s West & Co., 1500 Dewey Ave., Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, May 2, 2007
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor