Obituary of Jan Dean Bengtson

Jan Dean Bengtson was called to his eternal home on Tuesday, February 12, 2019.

Jan was born in July 1952, in Nebraska, to Jerrold and Mildred Bengtson.  At the age of 4, he moved with his family to Idaho, spending his entire life in the Treasure Valley area.

Jan had many likes, interests and passions.   While his favorite colors were red and green, he loved any colored t-shirt that had a cute or funny saying.  Music was a great passion for Jan from singing country western songs during Karaoke time to playing old popular tunes on a keyboard.  Jan was a self-taught musician that could not read a note of music but only played by ear while singing along, easily picking up a tune after hearing it a couple of times.  Jan’s other passions were vacuums and clocks.  He could easily have a ten-minute talk with you about your vacuum.  He would want to know the color and whether it had a long cord and a light. His clock collection was memorable.  He always had at least six clocks hanging up at the same time.  Some of them made noise or had some movement feature while others just kept time.  One thing they all had in common was they all needed to be set the same time.  His collection included different kinds of clocks like a large glass domed one, a cuckoo clock, an Elvis clock, and we can’t forget the BSU clock, too.

Jan’s memory for details of past experiences was exceptional.  It was not unusual for him to ask you about your dog or cat that you had years ago, recalling their name and how he enjoyed playing with them.

Jan added joy to people’s lives in simple ways.  He was known for telling knock knock jokes.  If he couldn’t recall a particular one, it was not unusual for him to make up a joke, adding a silly punch line that made everyone laugh.  Jan could easily make you smile even if you were having a bad day.  All he had to do was give you one of his hand-drawn, colored pictures. Your picture probably had a rainbow, a butterfly, a sun and some birds-----you know all those simple, beautiful things that make us happy.   Jan liked everyone he met and easily called them a friend.  He didn’t care if you were well educated or not, what occupation or expertise you had, or whether you were rich or had very little money.  He liked you just the way you were.

Jan loved God very much and never complained about life’s many challenges.  He has been a part of the Grace Lutheran Church family (Caldwell, Idaho) since 1956.  Jan touched many lives throughout his lifetime. While we will truly miss him, we all know that heaven now has a very special angel.

Jan is survived by his father Jerry Bengtson, sister Marian (Dwaine) Colson, brother Marty (Kathy) Bengtson, numerous nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles and cousins.  His mother Mildred and sister Joni preceded him.  

The family wants to extend a special thank you to the staff and patients at Meadow View Nursing and Rehabilitation, Midland Boulevard, Nampa, Idaho, for all their support, love and kindness to Jan.  You all made him feel so welcome and were a special family to him during his stay there.  He called Meadow View his home.

Memorials can be sent to the Grace Lutheran Church, 2700 South Kimball, Caldwell, Idaho, 83605, or Special Olympics Idaho, 199 East 52^nd Street, Garden City, Idaho,  83704.