WORTHINGTON - Just before the Honor Guard was ready to step off for the 2013 King Turkey Day Grand Parade on Saturday, the crowd was asked for a moment of silence to pay tribute to Edie Jensen, who died Friday at her rural Rushmore home.
Jensen was a fixture in the parade for many years, usually behind the wheel of one of her collector cars – and always sporting one of the many wild hats in her collection.
Besides her flashy outfits and automobiles, Jensen was known for service to her community. She was expecially active in regional DFL activities, Westminster Presbyterian Church and raising money for the American Heart Association.
Jensen’s political activities were recognized in the “Volunteer Stories” on the DFL website, www.dfl.org:
Edie Jensen has been volunteering in Nobles County for many years. Over the years she has planned dinners, worked phone banks and dropped literature. When soliciting for the Nobles County DFL Sustaining Fund, Edie was unsurpassed. Local Democrats knew that once Edie set her sights on them, their only course of action was to write a check. As her reputation grew, the checkbooks came out as soon as people saw Edie heading in their direction at DFL events. Edie’s other hobbies include her treasured collection of hats, and driving her motorcycle and Prowler automobile.
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Wearing a “crazy hat just in her honor,” parade announcer Chad Cummings noted that Jensen had been a part of the King Turkey Day tradition for many years. She received several Turkey Day honors, most recently in 2006, when she was named “Distinguished Parade Alumna.”
“My hat’s off to the hat lady,” Cummings said. “There’s a Harley or a Prowler and she’s wearing one of about 200 hats up there, watching over this parade. Let’s do a parade in Edie’s honor.”
