Stan Jensen's Obituary
Stan Jensen, 75, of Clinton, passed away, Sunday, February 8, 2026 at the Clarrisa C. Cook Hospice House – Bettendorf.
Services are pending at this time.
Stanley Dexter Jensen was born on May 26, 1950 in Clinton, the son of Dexter and Patricia (Yealy) Jensen. He was a 1968 graduate of Camanche High School. After graduating from Camanche High he attended Clinton Community College where he graduated in 1970 with an A.A. Degree. He then attended the University of Northern Iowa where he received a BA in history and political science in 1973. Later in 1974, he received a double major out of the College of Education and College of Business. He was awarded a research Graduate Assistantship in the College of Education. At UNI, he was off the Dean’s list once, his first semester there.
After graduating from UNI he managed a finance office for Beneficial Corporation. However Thoroughbred racing was his lifelong love. From 1978-1988 he was a jockey’s agent, representing such riders as Dean Kutz, Doug Richard, Mike Morgan, and Frank Briggs. He also owned two thoroughbreds, the broodmare: Sleepy Time Girl, and the filly: My Aunt Em, winner of two races at old Sportsman’s Park in Chicago. He had many friends in racing, both two legged and four.
From 1989-1993 he sold cars at Lynch Ford where he worked with friends: Bill Spiros, Dan Fornal, Chuck Como, and many more. In 1995 he worked for the Chicago Transit Authority as a Rapid Transit Operator. He retired in 2005 from the CTA with multiple health issues and moved back to Iowa and greatly missed all of his Chicago friends.
Stan was a collector of art and antiques; he focused on 18th and 19th century French porcelain. He acquired great knowledge of the Paris Porcelain factories and corrected auction houses on their mistakes on multiple occasions. He was a dealer in fine decorative arts for decades and discovered and sold fine pieces to private collectors and museums.
Writing was a passion for Stan. He had seven short storied published in the magazine “The Backstretch.” His novels included Black Deuce (an Amazon bestseller), First-Time Starter Trilogy (the first book, First-Time Starter was a semi-finalist in the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award for 2020), Red Otter, Ethan’s Peach Tree, and under the pen name J. Carter Swift, he wrote Café Blue and Stories of the Boy with Yellow Socks. The later has sold world-wide and has received critical acclaim.
On March 6, 2002, Stan began his long battle with cancer, losing a kidney. The cancer metastasized and on May 6, 2018, he lost half of his pancreas and was given less than a 10% chance to survive a year. In March of 2022 the cancer appeared from a 3rd time in his lungs.
Stan is survived by his sister: Maggie (James) Klaes of Clinton; two nephews: Bob and Dexter; and several cousins including Barb Leonard, Mel Coleman, Barb Pollack, and Resa Pollack. He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers: Thomas and Benjamin (February 2, 2026) and a sister: Lucinda.
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