James Bernard Jensen

James Bernard Jensen, also known as “Jim,” “Gym,” “Big Daddy,” “The Sheriff,” “Daddio” and a slew of other names, died at his home on the hill in Lakebay, where he most certainly was at peace, April 24.

Jim was born in Tacoma Feb. 20, 1945 to Lars and Vera Jensen and was baptized into the Catholic Church. He attended Saint Patrick’s Catholic School, Mason Junior High, and graduated from Stadium High. He often shared his fondness of getting smacked on the knuckles by a ruler.

Along with the mother of his children, Delores, he moved from Tacoma to the Key Peninsula in the early 1980s in hopes of creating an independent and solitary lifestyle — befitting the history of the Home Colony. He was an artist who enjoyed the creativity required by living off-the-grid. With that came the hope of propagating a certain herb, later legalized. Needless to say, he was way ahead of his time.

In his later days on the KP, he could often be seen on the road. He referred to it as “the tour of homes,” cruising the roads of this place he called home at a whopping 25 miles per hour. He never missed a beat when it came to even a slight change in the neighborhood.

His older sister Diane Hawkins and younger brother Robert went to heaven before him. Jim leaves behind his brother Chic and his three sisters, Teres Millar, Margaret Smith and M’Lis Aleshire; two sons and two daughters, seven grandchildren and a plethora of Key Peninsula dwellers.

Jim will undoubtedly be missed by many. He was quite a character. Rest in peace Daddio. A memorial service is planned for sometime this summer.