Jens Alvin Strand

   Jens Alvin Strand, 74, passed away peacefully from complications of Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), a Parkinsonian disorder, at home in Coralville, IA on Monday, June 15, 2020.

   Jens was born January 9, 1946 in Portland, ND, the son of Robert and Opal Strand.  He married Rosalinda “Rose” Mastricola in 1969.

   He graduated from Portland High School and the University of North Dakota with a stint in the US Army interrupting his college years. During that time he and Rose courted and married at Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX. In the spring of 1975 he became both a father and a doctor, graduating from Washington University School of Medicine. Following this, Jens returned to Mayville, ND to serve his hometown as a general practitioner for a year. He completed his medical residency while reentering the US Army, eventually achieving the rank of Major. Jens completed his General Surgery residency at Tripler Army Medical Center of Honolulu, HI in 1981. His career as an Army surgeon took his young family around the globe and allowed them to experience much of Europe and the Pacific Northwest in the 1980s. During this time he also completed fellowship training in Colorectal Surgery, a newer subspecialty for which he was a strong early advocate. Jens loved serving in the Army and frequently expressed a deep gratitude to the service for making so many significant parts of his life possible. 

   In 1987 a yearning for the upper Midwest led Jens and Rose to become civilians and he entered private practice with Multicare Associates at Unity Hospital in Fridley, MN. Remarkably dedicated to his patients, Jens spent the next 28 years serving that community as a surgeon with inspired enthusiasm and razor sharp clinical acumen. The onset of MSA’s physical symptoms drove him to voluntary early retirement in 2015.  He left behind a monumental contribution to that community’s surgical outcomes spanning decades.  Since that time he and Rose lived in Iowa City, minutes from the grandchildren he thoroughly enjoyed during his final years.

   Away from the hospital, Jens was a loving, devoted family man and an avid sports fan. His personal pastimes included a deep love of golf and skiing in Snowmass, CO. The first time he skied with his grandchildren he considered it the successful completion of a 30 year passion project begun in Berchtesgaden Germany, 1981. He was a longtime Vikings season ticket holder and considered himself incredibly lucky to have been a 3^rd baseline witness to a Minnesota Twins World Series victory.

   Jens is survived by his wife: Rose; son: Jens (Deepta); 3 grandchildren: Leela, Jens and Anjali all of Iowa City, IA; mother: Opal; brothers: Ken (Kathy), Bob (Joan), Curtis (Connie), and Mathew (Tanya); and sister: Cynthia (Karl) Andreasen.

   He was preceded in death by his father, Robert.

The family encourages memorial contributions to the Multiple System Atrophy Coalition: https://www.multiplesystematrophy.org/msa-research/

Visitation:  Will be 5–7 PM on Monday, June 22, 2020 at the Baker Funeral Home Chapel in Mayville, ND and will resume one hour prior to the service at the church.

Funeral Service: 10:30 AM Tuesday, June 23, 2020 at the Bruflat Lutheran Church in Portland, ND.

Burial: Will be in the Aurdal Cemetery in Portland, ND.