Lon & Mary Jensen
LON AND MARY JENSEN SCHOLARSHIP
Lon Jensen grew up on a farm in western Iowa, attended college and played football until he injured both knees. He then received a commission in the U.S. Air Force in 1955, attended flight school, and flew in the Air Force for three years. He studied two years of pre-dentistry at the State University of Iowa, followed by four years in dental school. During this time, he flew for the Army National Guard. He also served in the Army Reserves for eighteen years as a dentist. He retired from the military in 1993 with the rank of colonel. Dr. Jensen built a well-respected dental practice in Corvallis, which he maintained for thirtyfive years. He views his greatest accomplishments as becoming a dentist, flying with the military (rotary and fixed wing), playing and officiating football, meeting and learning about thousands of people during his lifetime. His enjoys traveling and living life to the fullest.
Mary Jensen grew up on a ranch in Texas and attended both the University of Texas and Texas A&M. Besides successfully managing Lon’s dental practice since 1971, she has been an active participant in their ranching and other business interests. She was the chief financial officer of the Loma Trucking Company, which the couple owned for ten years. Sports have always played a major role in her life, especially golf and tennis. By far the achievement most important to her is having raised their family and the prospect of continued personal and business activities with their grown children. Not content to just serve the Corvallis community, Lon expanded his dental practice to include much-needed dental care to the poorer populace of the West Indies section of the Caribbean. In 1999, Lon and Mary visited this area and had the privilege of meeting with Mr. Glen Stewart, the minister of communications and engineering for the South Grenadines. At the time no one had ever provided volunteer dental work for the inhabitants. On their first working trip in 2001, they worked in a small room in a medical clinic in Ashton Village and treated forty-five patients. In 2002 they made a second trip and established two state-of-the-art clinics, one on Union Island and the other on the neighboring island of Canouan. With the help of other dentists and the Rotary Clubs in the Willamette Valley, plus the Rotarians on St. Vincent, the program has grown and continues to provide critical dental care to the region.
Lon and Mary have been close to the ROTC units at OSU and WOU and are long-time supporters of the education of cadets. This scholarship is funded through their generous donations and commitment to helping students gain both a degree and a commission in the service.