Former Wayne Community Schools Superintendent Dr. Dennis R. Jensen, 71, of Wayne, died Friday, Jan. 19, 2024, at Faith Regional Health Services in Norfolk.
A Celebration of Life Service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 27 at First United Methodist Church in Wayne. Visitation will be from 9:30 a.m. until service time at the church.
Memorials may be directed to the Jensen family for later designation.
Arrangements are with Hasemann Funeral Home of Wayne
Dennis Ray Jensen was born and raised in Watertown, South Dakota, to Jean and Ivan Jensen on Oct. 10, 1952. He grew up working at an auto shop delivering cars at the age of 13, waterskiing and boating on Lake Kampeska, and golfing.
He attended college at Northern in Aberdeen, South Dakota, where he met and married the love of his life, Monica Preheim. Together they majored in music. Dennis was a gifted saxophonist, traveling in Europe with a selected jazz band where he played a duet with renowned jazz musician Lou Marini. He was also the lead singer of several rock bands.
Dennis and Monica moved to Roslyn, South Dakota, and then Ivanhoe, Minnesota, where they served as the music department for each school, where he directed band and she, vocal music. He became the youngest superintendent in South Dakota at age 27 in Montrose, South Dakota. He later completed master’s, specialist, and doctoral degrees in education. His dissertation on distance learning continued as he implemented and advocated for greater opportunities for students as superintendent of Elk Point and Wayne Public Schools.
Following school administration, he advocated for education for all by creating Inetlibrary. As a lifelong learner, he garnered information about anyone and everything each day of his life.
Besides his love of music and education, he was an avid golfer, and especially enjoyed golfing with his son, John, and his friends and sunk a hole-in-one on hole number three of the Wayne Country Club while out with his three children. In the off-season, he could beat anyone at golf games on XBOX. He loved watching John, Rachel, and Sarah’s music, education, and sports events over the years. He was their biggest fan. He was also a pinball and foosball wizard.
He loved spending time with Monica camping, singing and playing bells in the United Methodist church choirs, watching the Vikings, and going to visit their children and grandchildren in Seward and Lincoln. Throughout his life, one of his favorite hobbies was washing, waxing, and detailing cars for family and friends, and would grab the owner’s hand and proudly show the brilliant results.
He lived a life giving his love and focus to others and will be forever celebrated by those who knew him.
Survivors include his wife, Monica; children John and Julie (Jack, Leo, August Denny); Rachel and Timothy Hruza (Eleanor and William Dennis); and Sarah and Jason Messerli (Aria and Charlotte); mother-in-law, Marguerite Preheim; brothers-in-law Keith and wife, Lori, Brad and wife, Kelly; sister-in-law Nikki Jensen; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Jean; father, Ivan; brother, David; father-in-law, Herb Preheim, and brother-in-law, Bruce Preheim.
