Funeral Service for Jeff Jessen, 53 of Parker, Colorado, will be
10:00 a.m., Friday, February 18, 2011 at Living Word Lutheran
Brethren Fellowship, in Dickinson with Pastor Tim Voth,
officiating.

Jeff passed away February 14, 2011 in Parker, CO.

Jeffrey Bruce Jessen was born in Beach, ND on February 11th,
1958 the son of LaVern and Donelda (Hovdestad) Jessen. Jeff spent
his youth in Dickinson graduating from Dickinson High School and
Dickinson State College. From an early age Jeff’s passion was golf.
It could be said that Jeff grew up on the old 9 hole Dickinson golf
course as he spent countless hours there honing his craft. At the
age of 16 Jeff won the North Dakota State Junior tournament and
went on to win many high school, college, club and local
tournaments. Jeff was a hard charging achiever who was extremely
driven and focused. He started as a staff accountant and rose to
CEO of API Group, a conglomerate of companies built through
acquisitions, most of which were led by Jeff. Early on while
working at API, Jeff met Becky Birrenkott and, after dating for
several years, they were married on December 22, 1984. Jeff has
been known to say, “Becky is quiet but that’s ok because I talk
enough for 2 people.” Jeff was a hard charger but Becky has been a
rock and cornerstone of Jeff’s family. Jeff both loved and admired
Becky for her determination, persistence, and ability to keep the
family moving forward when times were difficult. Jeff was also CEO
of his extended family. His brothers often sought him out for
advice and he always followed up with words of encouragement and
support. Jeff was always in charge of any event or situation he was
a part of. It was simply his nature. While golf was his passion of
youth, his own family was his adulthood passion. Jeff’s focus
changed immediately when their first child arrived. Emily came
ready to take charge like her father and most certainly did. He was
completely enamored with “Emily America”, his little princess. She
was the apple of his eye. Life got even better when Jared arrived.
Jared was the spitting image of Jeff and was immediately
photographed in the tiny Beach Buccaneers basketball uniform in
which Jeff was photographed as an infant. Only the age of the photo
hinted at which one was Jared and which was Jeff. Jeff and Jared
spent hours together building and tinkering with whatever intricate
and elaborate toys or collectibles Jared was into at the time.
Seldom was there a family visit where Jared wasn’t sending Jeff off
for batteries or seeking his father’s help in repairing some tiny
part of one of his contraptions. Jeff was equally enamored with his
“tinkerer” He was a kind and generous soul and often went out of
his way to support friends, family and even strangers. He had a
love for nature and animals and spent countless hours and dollars
preserving wildlife around his home. Jeff never sat still and was
always on the go. From the moment he woke up in the morning to the
moment he went to bed, not a minute was wasted. Jeff’s life ended
too early but he crammed more into his 53 years than most do in
100. Jeff was always making “forward progress”, as he would say,
and that’s exactly what he would want all of us to do. He would
want us to make forward progress by charging forward with our
lives.

Jeff is survived by his wife, Becky of Parker, CO; one daughter,
Emily Jessen of Parker, CO; one son, Jared Jessen; parents, LaVern
and Donalda Jessen, of Dickinson, three brothers, Jim Jessen of
Minot, Jay (Jane) Jessen of Redmond, WA and John Jessen of
Bismarck; two nephews, Jakob Jessen and James Jessen and three
nieces, Amber Jessen, Kelli Jessen and Abby Jessen. He was preceded
in death by his maternal grandparents Joe Hovestad, Ellen (Jonason)
Hovestad Collins and Albert Collins; and paternal grandparents
Reuben and Christine (Neve) Jessen.

Rather than flowers, please send memorials to the Dickinson
State University Foundation to establish the Jeff Jessen Golf
Scholarship.

Remembrances and condolences may be shared with the family at
www.stevensonfuneralhome.com

Stevenson Funeral Home and Crematory

Dickinson, North Dakota