Neldon B Jensen

After a long battle with cancer, Neldon Bowcut Jensen slipped peacefully away in the early morning hours of Saturday, September 30, 2023. Neldon was born on September 1, 1935 in Mapleton, Idaho to L. Richard and Griselda May Jensen. He grew up in Preston, Idaho with his parents, his sister, Harriet, and his brother, Leroy. His mother died of diabetic complications when he was 8 years old. His father remarried and they had another child, Diane. Neldon didn’t have an easy childhood and he relied heavily on Harriet and Leroy. They basically took care of him from age 8 into adulthood.

              Neldon married Nedra on September 2, 1958 and they had 2 children: Richard and Karen. Sadly, they divorced in 1965. He married Jo Ann on June 27, 1967 and they had 4 children and adopted 2 others, so ended up with 6 children: Elaine, Kelly, Donelle, Eric, Carol, and Ann. Neldon served in the Navy and the Army Reserve for many years. He earned a degree in accounting from LDS Business College and worked as an accountant for several years. He worked a lot of odd jobs over the years, but spent the main part of his working life as a mail carrier.

              Despite a difficult upbringing, he loved all his family and friends. While his kids were young, he planned family vacations and day trips to visit family and friends. There were many close friends he had that he visited so much that his children thought they were relatives! For many years, the “big” vacation was traveling across the country to Pennsylvania to visit Jo Ann’s family. In later years, he planned family reunions every two years.

Neldon made friends everywhere he went. Neighbors and people on his mail route called him Mr. Nice Guy. He would strike up conversations with anyone around him. Making friends was only one of his many talents. He also wrote many poems and short stories that he has collated into several self-published books. He also made a Christmas card every year where he wrote the verse and Jo Ann designed and/or drew the artwork. He loved woodworking and DIY projects. He has said that the workshop shed in the back yard was the best addition ever. Neldon almost always had a smile on his face and was known for his jokes! “Why do elephants paint their toenails red? So they can hide in the strawberry patch.”

Neldon was preceded in death by his parents (L. Richard and Griselda), brother Leroy (Sylvia), sister Harriet (Sheridan), and grand-daughter Taylor Olivia Anderson.

He is survived by his wife Jo Ann, his children Richard (Lisa), Karen (Chip), Elaine, Kelly, Donelle (Brett), Eric (Mollie), Carol (Bart), Ann (Corey), his sister Diane (Gary), 19 grandchildren Ben, Anthony, Jeremy (Autumn), Joshua, Alex, Lauren (Andrew), Brayden (Brianna), Kayla (Parker), Jaxyn, Alyssa, Pen, Milo, Jacob, Jessica (Colby), Brooklyn, Caleb, Elizabeth, Jonah, and Emily and 6 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, October 5, 2023 at Hillside Ward building 7075 S 2245 E Cottonwood Heights, UT at 11:00am. There will be a viewing held on Wednesday evening 6:00-8:00pm and on Thursday morning 10:00-10:45am at the same Hillside Ward building.