Jon David Jensen

Jon D. Jensen, age 73, of Galva, passed away on Saturday, February 14, 2026 at the family farm of Galva. A funeral service will be held on Saturday, February 21, 2026 at 10:30 AM at the St. John’s Lutheran Church of Galva with the Pastor Bradley W. Ketcham officiating. Burial will be at the Galva Township West Cemetery of Galva. A visitation will be held on Friday, February 20, 2026 from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM at the St. John’s Lutheran Church of Galva.

On November 30th, 1952 Lois and Russell Jensen brought into this world a baby with an incredible set of lungs. As a child, and since he was the youngest of 4 children, Jon quickly learned to use those lungs to make sure his voice was heard—a talent that grew with the years. Neighbors of the family, the Adams, saying they could hear him from all the way down the road—but little did any of us know how much those larger-than-life lungs would change our world.

Through primary school the lungs went quiet—but his heart grew loud. You see, kindergarten meant meeting someone who would change Jon’s life—his homecoming queen. Her name was RoxAnne and from that moment on, her name was etched on both his heart, his future and of course, on those lungs.

Junior high and high school arrived along with strong opinions, love of sports and the discovery of a use for his breath—music. He wouldn’t find it in any classroom nor from any teacher; he would find it while riding east and west on the cabless tractor, radio strapped to the fender, pulling the cultivator behind him. Completely unaware that he was cultivating far more than corn.

1971 arrived along with graduation and off he went to Mankato for college. But soon, Jon and his lungs would have some choices to make—3 trimesters later, he got a call from Russell with an option—finish college or move out to the middle of a cornfield to become a farmer. So, back to the cornfield he and his lungs went to build his life.

It was 1974 when his voice uttered two very important words—“I do”. RoxAnne and he were married on October 5th and two years later, in 1976 they welcomed their first born, Nathan Alan. Shortly after Nathan’s arrival, Jon, Roxie and Nathan moved down the road to the original Jensen family acreage, fondly named Sunny View Farm, where, as they say, happily ever after occurs. Welcoming babies Nicklas David to the family in 1979 and Olivia RoxAnne a decade later in 1989.

As the children grew, Jon found another new use for those lungs—coaching. Whether it was life lessons or sports, his advice would be heard. “You’re only as good as your next game”, “Stop me when I’m lying”, “A thousand pitches per day”, “Clear the mechanism”, “FIELD THE BALL WITH TWO HANDS!”—the ball games, the dance recitals, all the rides home after, and all the practices the next day—Jon’s voice lingers even now in the backs of the minds of not only Roxie, Nathan, Nick and Olivia but also the grandkids—Elli, Rowan, Braxton, Raif, and Ryan. (And maybe even you—who are reading this now.)

The pitching mound, the machine shed, the football field, the basketball court, the tire against the hay bales where countless pitches were thrown, the corn field—these weren’t only places for Jon’s words. Those lungs also filled our world with song. Not a single softball practice went by where Jon wasn’t welcoming Olivia’s teammates with “Oh What a Beautiful Morning”—regardless of the time of day.

Song followed Jon everywhere—each grandchild born was a new target for him to sing to. Wide eyes registering that this booming voice was their Jon—getting lost in Walmart would be impossible (as would calling him Grandpa it seems). There was safety in his voice. Those lungs turned any place he was into sanctuary.

And sanctuary was where they shone brightest. From the days of cultivating his voice riding east to west as a child to the voice that blew the roof off of every church he ever worshipped in—his love for life, the Lord, and the land and people he spent his life cultivating was present in every breath.

His lungs carried him through the eleven and a half years he battled cancer. With the side effects of the treatments for prostate cancer, he found a silver lining in reaching a new octave in his scales. An ability he soon put to use when discovering that the Mayo Clinic had a praise choir—letting his voice ring throughout the hospital atrium and into the halls and hearts of all those suffering like he was.

As his battle went on, his lungs grew quiet again. Breath was harder and harder to find but his voice wasn’t finished. At midnight on Valentine’s Day, 2026, Jon gave us one last song—“Blessed Assurance.” His lungs held strong and his pitch was perfect as he sang for his family and his Lord shortly before meeting Him face-to-face.

….and that’s all we have to say about that.

Jon was preceded in death by his parents; parents-in-law, Willard and Regina Olson; brother, Jerry Jensen; sister, Joanne Brandt; nephew, Jay Jensen.

He is survived by his wife, RoxAnne; sons, Nathan and Nick (Sara); daughter, Olivia; grandchildren, Elli, Braxton, Rowan, Raif and Ryan; sister, Judy (Darrell) Murray; sister-in-law, Jean Jensen; brothers-in-law, Rick (Jeanie) Olson and Rusty (Vicky) Olson; nieces and nephews, Jed (Amy) Jensen, Jeff (Peg) Murray, Teresa (Brian) Larson, Don (Sue) Brandt, Kris (Trent) Vaughn, Eric Olson, Mike (Jaime) Olson and Mandi (Maas) Hintz and countless special friends.