Mark Edward Jansen

   We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our father, Mark Edward Jansen. Dad passed away on November 15th at age 66 at his favorite place on earth—his beautiful home, that he built with his own two hands, on Thunder Lake. He is survived by his two daughters Taylor Jansen (age 28) and Kalley Jansen (age 27), and his siblings Bill Jansen, Mary Lessner, Anne Bellamy, and Julie Tembreull. He is going to be severely missed by all his family and friends. 

   Dad was the absolute life of the party wherever he was! Whether you found him out cruising Thunder Lake on the infamous Sea Nymph, sipping a cocktail and telling stories around his fire pit, lounging pool-side with his friends in Lake Havasu, AZ, or out hunting with his brother and/or best friends, you know he was always having a good time. He truly lived by the statement, “work hard play hard,” and he instilled that important motto in his daughters. 

As strange as it us for us to write this, we (Taylor and Kalley) know that we were the two most important things in Dad’s world. He always told us that and never let us forget it. Everyone always tells us he would talk about us non-stop explaining how proud he was of us and how much he loved us. He was truly the best father you could imagine. He supported us through all of life’s highs and lows. Our lives will be forever impacted by no longer having our number one supporter, our best friend, our confidant, our advice giver, our path-maker, our Daddy. Our hearts have large holes now that will never be filled. 

   Besides his daughters, Mark’s biggest passion in life was hunting. He spent his entire life hunting with his brother, Bill, along with many friends along the way. He learned to hunt from his dad at a young age and it is a passion that he carried through to the very end. Whether he was out at ‘the shack’ or in his home-away-from-home in North Dakota, he enjoyed every moment he had out hunting. His brother Bill is devastated to have lost his best hunting partner. 

   Mark spent his entire life in the construction business. He learned the trade when he was young and began his career right out of high school. He quickly opened his successful construction company, Jansen Homes, LLC, which he owned and operated until 2008 when he claimed to have “retired”. However, the true story is that he lasted only 1 day as a retired man. He immediately began doing various jobs around Thunder Lake helping locals build new sheds and garages, remodel their homes, and assist through the entire construction process. He was an expert in this field and loved sharing his wealth of knowledge. Plus, he couldn’t sit still for more than a minute and needed to stay busy, proven by his immaculate lawn that he obsessively cared for each summer. He was the hardest working man we’ve ever known.

   Although these are sad times, Dad would want us to be celebrating him and reminiscing on his memories and stories. A Celebration of Life will be held this upcoming summer to honor and remember him—details to come. Here’s to Dad and to keeping his memory alive forever!