Enter caption here…
Larry Wolfe
Prior to retiring in Arizona in 2014, Chris Jensen was pretty much a SoCal guy. Born and raised in Anaheim, Chris graduated from Anaheim High where he played some football and baseball for the Colonists. He also started his softball “career” while in high school, playing in a local men’s church league. He then attended Fullerton Junior College, Brigham Young (Utah) and Long Beach State, earning a degree in accounting. He also married his college sweetheart Lynnae while at Long Beach State.
He was recruited out of college by the then “Big 8” accounting firm, Touche Ross, where he spent three years before being “snared” by a client, Health Industries, Inc. After a three-year stint there, he became Controller for SRL, Inc., an electronics firm. He was with SRL and a successor company for over 10 years before becoming Controller of Arakelian Industries, a private company doing business as Athens Services. That company provides a wide range of waste management and recycling services for municipalities, businesses and consumers in Southern California. In addition to his controllership duties, he provided accounting and tax services for the owners of this large, family-owned business.
After over 21 years with Arakelian Industries, Chris and Lynnae relocated to Arizona where two of their four adult children live with their families. Six of their ten grandkids are also in the area, residing in Chandler and San Tan Valley. They have other “kids” and grandchildren in Riverside, California, and Utah.
Chris played either baseball or softball for well over 40 years prior to temporarily hanging up his cleats at age 53. He “came out of retirement” to join our Sun Lakes league two years ago. He’s a solid hitter, finishing in the Top Twenty this past year in the Lakes Division and also is a versatile fielder at several positions.
You might have guessed that the Jensens also love get-togethers with their family members. They’ve visited Disney World seven times with some of the trips including “the whole group of 20+” kids and grandkids. They also periodically travel to California and Utah to visit their “out of state” families and do reunions with Lynnae’s five siblings and their families. Both Lynnae and Chris are also involved in various church activities and volunteer as drivers for Neighbors Who Care.
NASCAR is another of Chris’ passions. He’s participated in the Richard Petty Driving Experiences at several tracks, including Disney World, Fontana (California), Las Vegas Valley, Texas Motor Speedway and PIR (Phoenix). He’s recently added an Indy Car Experience to his driving skills. He says that a family member showed him that they play FanDuel Fantasy Nascar so he is hoping to learn how to use that for some extra fun! Chris also collects die-cast NASCAR replica cars, at one time having well over 100 in his collection. He’s down to 40+ now, having donated several to charities and family members.
When I asked Chris what’s the fastest he’s driven a NASCAR car around the track, he replied “only about 155 m.p.h. or so.” Hopefully, he slows down a little bit when driving for Neighbors Who Care!