Norman Jensen

Norman Jensen, 84, of South Pasadena, California, passed away at home on January 25, 2024, with his daughter at his side.
Norman was born on October 24, 1939, in Needles, California, to Vern and Martha Jo (Ketcham) Jensen. He graduated from Needles High School in 1957 where he played football and trombone in the marching band. As a teenager, Norman hunted and fished in the nearby New York Mountains and Colorado River to help put food on the table and worked at his local Union 76 gas station as a “Minuteman.”
In 1960, Norman began work with the Southern California Gas Company monitoring and servicing the high-pressure pipelines that brought natural gas from Texas to Southern California. In 1962, Norman enlisted in the Navy and served as a Machinist Mate on the USS Preston (DD-795) for over four years. During that time, he deployed to Vietnam twice and participated in combat operations.
In 1964, while stationed in Long Beach, California, he met Lynnel Zimmerman and in 1965 they married. After leaving the Navy in 1966, Norman and Lynnel made their home together in South Pasadena and never left. Norman returned to work for The Gas Company, and with the additional training and expertise he received in the Navy, he became a licensed steam turbine engineer. He worked on many different projects within the company spanning from commercial steam heating and refrigeration to oil well and natural gas recovery. He retired from The Gas Company in 1992 after 32 years and began a “retirement job” at St. Luke’s Hospital in Pasadena from 1993 until he fully retired in 2000.
Norman and Lynnel had three children: John, James, and Juliet. Norman was active with his sons in Boy Scout Troop 342 and backpacked through the High Sierras and Grand Canyon, summited Mt. Whitney, and canoed the Colorado River. He also supported his daughter during her many years with Job’s Daughters Bethel 101. Norman could always be found at his grandsons’ baseball games and, along with Lynnel, took good care of his two grandsons and granddaughter while their parents worked.
He is survived by his three children, four grandchildren (Vincent Duchetta, Marco Duchetta, Alison Jensen, and Shane Jensen), sister Dina (Jensen) Harris, niece Jill (Harris) Harmon, and nephew Dennis Harris.
Private services will be planned at a later date.