Local husband, father and firefighter remembered for his dedication and kindness to others

RIGBY — A local husband, father and firefighter who unexpectedly died earlier this week had a kind heart and desire to serve those around him.

Hunter Jensen, of Rigby, died March 17 at the age of 25. He leaves behind his wife, Alexess Jensen, and their two daughters, Kita and IsaBella, who will soon be 3 and 2 years old, respectively.

Hunter was born March 18, 2000, in Idaho Falls. He was raised in Grant and graduated from Rigby High School in 2018, according to his obituary.

“When he was born, he was my baby, but he didn’t want to be a baby,” Keersten Jensen, Hunter’s mom, told EastIdahoNews.com. “He wanted to be grown up, so everything he did, he was always the biggest kid.”

Keersten said her son loved dogs, enjoyed working on cars and liked to help people.

“He was very kind,” she said. “He always made friends with the handicapped kids at school. When he was in kindergarten, there was a handicapped boy in his class, and he learned sign languages to talk to him because that’s how the boy could talk was through signs. He learned to do that so that little boy would have a friend.”

Hunter loved sports and Keersten said when he was in high school, he did track and field, and he had a dream of becoming an Olympian.

“One time when he was pole vaulting, he came down on the upright, not the pole but the actual upright, and it went through his armpit,” Keersten recalled. “When they got him off of it, he stood up and said, ‘I got to go again.’ They had to hold him down to take him to the emergency room. But he was ready to go again, even with that big of wound, because he wanted to win.”

It was also during his time in high school that Hunter began serving as a volunteer firefighter. For the past eight years, he’s served his community as a firefighter/EMT with Central Fire District. His loved ones said he was hired full time with Central Fire about one-and-a-half years ago.

“We loved him more than he’ll ever know,” Keersten said. “He loved (his family) more than they will know too.”

A viewing will be held March 25 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Woods Funeral Home, located at 273 N. Ridge Ave. in Idaho Falls. On March 26, a visitation will take place from 11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. with the funeral starting at noon. It will be held at the Grant LDS Church, at 3431 E. 100 N. in Rigby.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help Alexess and their children with the medical bills and other expenses associated with the loss of Hunter. To donate, click here. Donations can also be made via Venmo to @AlexessJensen.

Alexess, who is a volunteer firefighter with Central Fire, is grateful for the hospital personnel and first responders who have shown support and helped her and her children during this time. She encourages the Rigby community to show their love and support for the first responders affected by Hunter’s passing to send care packages or flowers to the fire, police and sheriff’s departments.