Bernard A. Jenson, known to friends and family as Ben, died on Saturday January 29 at Princeton Medical Center.

Ben was born and raised in New Brunswick, NJ. A veteran of WWII, he was assigned by the Army to the Supreme Allied Command, serving at headquarters in England, Belgium and France.

After the war he entered the State Teachers College at Trenton, majoring in English and History. In his sophomore year he became editor of the college newspaper, a position he held until graduation. The following year he earned an M.A. in Teaching of English from Columbia University. During that year, at the annual meeting of student editors, he was elected to head the college division of The Columbia Scholastic Press Association and later, invited by Columbia University to remain in that position which he did for a number of years.

When he returned to NJ, he was senior English teacher at Flemington High School until he joined the faculty at the State University College of New York at Buffalo in 1955. In that year he was stricken with colon cancer, underwent major surgery and was given a prognosis of one year. In 1956 he underwent a second surgery and although he was not expected to survive due to infection Ben did not succumb and the cancer did not spread further or reoccur. In 1957 he and his wife and their five month old son left Buffalo for their home in Hunterdon County where Ben might recuperate. He slowly took on some substitute teaching in TSC extension programs and Princeton Junior High.

In 1962 Ben enrolled in the new Annenberg School of Communication at University of Pennsylvania where he earned an M.A. in Communication.

The family continued to enjoy life in Hunterdon County where Ben directed several variety shows for local groups and joined Center Stage, a repertory group housed at The Mill in Clinton where he won their Millie award for acting.

The family spent a five year period in NY while wife Pauline pursued further study at Columbia. Ben joined the NY State Department of Education as their liaison between public television stations and NY state colleges. As an Executive Producer of Television Services, he produced the college course Communication and Society as well as Privacy and the Right to Know which won the Ohio State Award for outstanding films in radio and television.

In 1970, Ben retired from full-time occupation due to chronic multiple health problems. He remained active in his home and built a vast collection of books on literature, theatre, history and sociology. He was also able to produce a series of short films targeted for special education students which were distributed by Universal Studios. After the family moved to Princeton in 1976, Ben added community affairs to his list of interests. He was often seen and heard at meetings of the Princeton Borough Council. He was a familiar figure in town, sporting a blue beret and stopping to talk with friends and neighbors.

Ben is survived by Dr. Pauline Jenson, his wife of 62 years, his son Mark, daughter-in-law Elaine and granddaughter Emily, his brother Joseph and his family, a nephew Kip and a host of great nephews and nieces and cousins.

Visiting is on Friday, February 4, 2011 from 11:00am to 1:00pm at the Kimble Funeral Home, 1 Hamilton Avenue, Princeton, NJ, followed by burial in Princeton Cemetery.