Jerry Jansen

At age 84, Jerry died peacefully on September 23, 2018 after a heroic struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Jerry was a resident of Carmel, Indiana but was born and raised in Griffith, Indiana in a farming family.  He learned the values of humility, faith and devotion to family.  A talented player and enthusiastic lover of sports, especially basketball and football, Jerry was recruited by several colleges to play football.  He chose Purdue because it allowed him to stay close to home and to his family.  Jerry was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.  He secured a job with Marathon Oil Company upon graduation, developed a career in commercial real estate and retired 37 years later. Jerry was married to Carol Sandman in 1961, and they were happily married for 31 years until cancer took her life.  He was a loving husband and a devoted caregiver throughout her illness.  They had two children, son Jay (Laura) and daughter Jen (Todd). In 1993, he and Jean Capel Davis were married.  They would have celebrated their 25^th anniversary in December. They enjoyed traveling together, dining out with friends and building an active life with their large blended family.  He was a caring step-father to Greg Davis (Theresa) and Matt Davis.  Jerry was a proud grandfather to seven grandkids, Cal, Cara, Camryn, and Ella Jansen and Troy, Charlie and Kate Belanger.  He enjoyed being a step-grandfather to five step grandkids, Justin Davis, Kristy Bearman, Anita Davis, Talli Hoersten and Macey Davis and enjoyed his six step great-grandchildren, as well. Jerry liked old cars, music, bike riding, cats and dogs.  He loved to play golf, work with financial matters and travel with his family.  In each of his relationships with children and grandchildren, he was an outstanding role model of quiet kindness, simple honesty and a deep sense of faith and gratitude for life.  He was always a believer in God and treasured each day.  Jerry is survived by his loved older brother Bill Jansen, and was preceded in passing by his sister, Carol Towers. Jerry was a member of Carmel United Methodist Church for over 40 years and volunteered in their food pantry and with Meals on Wheels.  The celebration of Jerry’s life will be on Saturday, September 29 at Carmel United Methodist Church.  Visitation:  10:00am-12:00pm.  Funeral service immediately following at 12:00pm. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations made in Jerry’s memory to the Carmel United Methodist (carmelumc.org) located at 621 S. Range Line Road in Carmel, IN 46032, or the Alzheimer’s Association of Central Indiana (alz.org) located at 50 E.91^st Street, Indianapolis, IN 46240.