May-Lis (Bengson) Jensen

May-Lis Bengson Jensen of Haddam, CT, passed away peacefully on March 9, 2026, at Commonwealth Senior Living Haddam with her husband and daughter at her side.

May-Lis was born to Gust and Hulda Bengson on January 7, 1941, in Brooklyn, New York. She grew up in Brooklyn and received her nursing degree from Hunter College. She married Allen Halvor Jensen on June 5, 1965, in Brooklyn. After her first child was born, May-Lis was a homemaker until her youngest child started college. She then worked at H&R Block and FAS of Rocky Hill, CT, before retiring. During Allen’s career in the U.S. Navy, he and May-Lis moved around the country to duty stations at Davisville, Rhode Island; Naval Post Graduate School, Monterey, California; Fairfax, Virginia; Brunswick, Maine; and Patuxent River, Maryland. During part of her stay in Brunswick, May-Lis held down the fort with their four children while Allen was serving in Saudi Arabia. The couple settled in Haddam, Connecticut after Allen’s retirement from the U.S. Navy.

May-Lis was an active member of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, Middletown, CT. She was a member of the Social Ministry at the church. The center of May-Lis’ life was her family.  May-Lis inherited a love of gardening from her mother.

May-Lis was predeceased by her parents and her sister Ann Manley. She is survived by her husband of 60 years, and her children Peter Jensen and his wife Karen, of Ridge, MD; Cynthia Jensen of Avon, CT; Thomas Jensen and his wife Christine of Fiskdale, MA; and Kristina Smith and her husband Brian of Raynham, MA. She is also survived by her grandchildren Evan Jensen, Andrew Jensen, Erik Jensen, Alex Jensen, Emily Smith, and Kaitlyn Smith, as well as sisters-in-law Jean Aram and Joan Jensen and brother-in-law John Manley, Sr.

A funeral service will be celebrated by Pastor Mark Clow at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, Middletown, CT, on March 19th at 10:30 am. Inurnment will follow at the Connecticut State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown.

Memorial contributions may be made to Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1055 Randolph Rd, Middletown, CT 06457, the American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 7023, Merrifield, VA 22116-7023 or to the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Avenue, Floor 17, Chicago, IL 60601.
 

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