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Neal Frederick Jensen, 88, passed away in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on November 24, 2003, following a short illness. Dr. Jensen was born October 4, 1915, in Hazen, North Dakota to Nels P. and Sophie Frederickson Jensen, homesteading ranchers of the Red Butte area. He attended the Red Butte grade school and Hazen High School. In 1939 he graduated from North Dakota Agricultural College with a B.S. degree in Agronomy. In 1943 he received the Ph.D. degree from The Graduate School of Cornell University. Dr. Jensen joined the U.S. Navy as an Ensign in October, 1942. He participated in the Iwo Jima and Okinawa invasions in the Intelligence Section of Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner on board the USS Eldorado. He served three and one half years on active duty in the Navy and retired from the Naval Reserve in 1963 with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. On June 22, 1946, in Washington, D.C., he married Mary Willard Webb of Nashville, Tennessee. They moved to Ithaca, New York, where Dr. Jensen was Assistant Professor in the Department of Plant Breeding and Biometry of Cornell University, and raised a family of four children. Dr. Jensen conducted research and taught at Cornell University for 32 years, was named Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Plant Breeding, and upon retirement in 1978 was granted Emeritus status. After retirement, the Jensens lived in Arizona until 1984, when they moved to Albuquerque. Dr. Jensen lived a full and productive life. He was known world-wide for his work in plant breeding and wrote numerous articles and a major textbook on the subject. Privately, he devoted time to growing new varieties of peonies. In retirement, Dr. Jensen was working on a number of western-themed stories and his memoirs of World War II and Cornell University. He was also an artist and completed many paintings and three-dimensional works. Recreationally, he kept active with gold panning and coin hunting. He is greatly missed by his family and many friends. Dr. Jensen is survived by three children, Barbara L. Jensen, of Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Lawrence W. Jensen, wife, Rebecca, and granddaughters Elizabeth and Katherine, of Peacham, Vermont; and Thomas F. Jensen, of Archer, Florida. He is also survived by his five brothers, Raymond, Forrest, Orrie and David Jensen of North Dakota and Warren Jensen of Minnesota; and his sister, Grace Benz of New Mexico, as well as their spouses and numerous nieces and nephews. Dr. Jensen was predeceased by Mary, his wife of 57 years; a daughter, Margaret N. Jensen; his brother, John Jensen; and two brothers, Kenneth and Curtis Jensen, who died as infants.
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