Memories of my Dad . . .

My older brother, Joe gave this eulogy of my Dad last week at his funeral. It pretty much sums up my Dad.
And just a note regarding the coolers, the last time my dad called me at work, he was steaming mad because he thought I had borrowed the plug in cooler without going through the proper cooler check out channels . . . he was afraid that I would put ice in it and blow it out. BUT, I did not have the cooler, it was up on the shelf of the garage, right where he had asked Dan to put it two days earlier. . . .

Jerome Robert “ Jerry” Jansen
Funeral Mass
July 3, 2008
Assumption Church
Saint Paul, Minnesota
by Joseph Conrad “Joe” Jansen
Jerome Robert Jansen, “Jerry”, Born: February 2, 1934, Ground Hogs Day. Died: last day of June, 2008. 74 years of Jerry Jansen. 74 years of Jerry Jansen stories, I imagine everyone in this church has their own Jerry Story.
I have spoken with many people over the past few days some were my friends, some were family friends, but most were my dad’s friends, some I met for the first time. Many have shared a story they remember about Jerry.
It’s difficult for me to be able, in such a short period of time, to summarize my dad’s life for you, especially with the strict time constraints Fr. Malone had put me under this morning.
I would like to share some of the things that made up Jerry Jansen.
He loved coolers. In that big garage behind our home on Scheffer Avenue, there was a area dedicated to cooler storage, I’d bet he had ten coolers stored there, and if one was missing the question was who has it and when will it be returned…of all the tools and gadgets and stuff he had his car cigarette lighter powered cooler was his prized possession. You would plug it into the cigarette lighter of the car and the cooler would keep everything cold, no ice!
This thing made all the cabin visits and Florida trips over the past several years.
I’m not sure how many times he left the cooler plugged in draining the car battery and thus requiring a jump start.
One of his favorite hobbies in his retirement was his Highland Park Squirrel Relocation Program. The mission was to get all squirrels in Highland Park relocated to south Minneapolis, one at a time.
He would trap a squirrel; load the trap into the back of his van, drive across the Ford Bridge into south Minneapolis find a nice quiet street to park and release the squirrel. One at a time.
This went on for years until the squirrels finally overtook the yard and forced Jerry and Cathy to sell the house and move to White Bear Lake.
At the new house, The squirrel trap was traded for a wrist rocket and “Operation Iron Ore” went into effect.
Jerry’s new mission was to eliminate all the geese from around the pond behind the house. How many of you were invited to “come on over and we’ll sit on my deck and shoot taconite pellets at the damn geese”.
He would collect the Taconite pellets on his numerous trips to the North Shore. These pellets were the perfect ammunition. A couple weeks ago I was at his house and the pond was being excavated. I asked my dad if the mining companies from the Iron Range had come down to mine this new found source of taconite pellets. He smiled.
Jerry loved people, all people. He loved talking to people, listening to people, he loved being with people. He could always find something to talk about with anyone.
Jerry had many, many friends and friendships that he treasured. In fact his only known enemy was the dreaded mosquito. Boy, if there was a single mosquito in the area, it found Jerry. he would be clothed from head to toe and the mosquito would find a piece of his flesh. He would welt up immediately. I could be standing next to him with nothing but my socks and never be bothered.
Even the mosquito’s loved Jerry.
I’ll treasure the memories of the Canadian fishing trips, the Jansen Family summer car trips, the camping trips, the garage, the farm, Deer Camp, cell phone conversations and Jerry’s travel bar, but what I’ll remember most are the Friday’s spent over the past year with my dad at the cancer center, being with him while he received his weekly treatment….”Cocktail hour” he would exclaim as we walked into the cancer center. Every nurse would smile and say “hi Jerry”. Everyone was always happy to see him.
My dad battled cancer in some form for 33 years and after 33 years and hundreds of Hospital stays, the cancer never beat him. In the end it was his heart, his big heart full of love for his family and love for his friends that peacefully allowed him to finally rest from all those years
The battles were tough and he was a tough guy. But his Family, his Friends and his faith is what got him though those battles.
I thank you all for being Jerry’s friend but mostly, I thank him for being my dad!

My younger brother, Mark, also gave a eulogy that day. You can view that by clicking on the link.