Volmer Kenneth Jensen

Volmer Kenneth Jensen was born in Faith, SD on July 29, 1938 to Jens Peder (J.P.) & Ida Jensen. He grew up 5 miles east of Faith and graduated from Faith High School with the Class of 1956.

In the summer of 1958 Volmer met the Love of his Life, Vonda Lee Simons (Ting) at the Plainview dance hall. It was love at first dance, and they were married on April 19, 1959 at Sturgis Presbyterian Church. In 1960, their daughter Venita was born, and 3 years later their son, Vaughn was born.

In 1961, Volmer graduated from South Dakota State University, where he studied civil engineering. During this time, he achieved the rank of First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, and proudly served as a Battalion Recon & Survey Officer.

In 1964 Volmer began his career with the U.S. Department of Transportation as a Highway Engineer. As he moved up the career ladder, he and his family moved from state to state (10 total), gaining life-long friends along the way. Each move brought a new major highway project for him to manage, each one bringing him great satisfaction. Throughout his 30 years with the DOT, Volmer received several honors and awards, including the Distinguished Career Service Award, and the Senior Executive Service Award presented to him by President George H.W. Bush.

Despite all the moves and often being thousands of miles away, Volmer never missed an opportunity to spend time with family in South Dakota. Family was everything to him, and he placed great importance on maintaining close ties with his relatives in Denmark. He loved taking Ting and his kids on trips across the U.S. and through Europe – it was important to him that they had those experiences. Camping and boating trips through National Parks were frequent, and he enjoyed pheasant and deer hunting. He was quite the two-stepper, and especially loved two-stepping with Ting. Volmer was also active in the church where he took on several leadership roles, including church President.

After retiring in 1994, he and Ting moved back to South Dakota and spent the next 25 years travelling, investing in land and cattle, and spending winters in Arizona. They eventually moved to Arizona full-time, but he loved South Dakota and kept his roots by having a second home there. Those trips back to the prairie gave him so much joy. Also, throughout his retirement, Volmer endured an incurable kidney disease, and as a result, received 4 kidney transplants. They called him the “iron man” at Mayo Clinic. Between transplants and dialysis, he fought a long and hard battle, but always with a smile on his face.

Volmer passed away peacefully on Friday, December 13 at home in Arizona with family nearby. He is preceeded in death by his parents, J.P. and Ida Jensen; siblings Edith Dexheimer, Edwin Jensen, and Margaret Burnett. Grateful for having shared his life are his wife of 60 years, Vonda Jensen; daughter Venita (Jeff) Koenig; son Vaughn (Susan) Jensen; granddaughter Britni Jensen; brother Eldon (Mary Jean) Jensen; sister Marie (Dale) Ingalls.

A celebration of Volmer’s life was held at Bethel Lutheran Church – the church his father J.P. Jensen built – in Faith, SD on Monday, December 30. He was  laid to rest with full Military Honors at Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis, SD.

Memorial contributions may be made to the National Kidney Foundation or Bethel Lutheran Church.

Condolences to Volmer’s family can be sent through our website at www.evansonjensenfuneralhome.com