It was a blind date that changed everything- the start of a remarkable lifelong romance of 65 years, built on mutual devotion, laughter, and unwavering love. It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Lance Jenkins, age 88, on July 10, 2026 at Ohio Health Hospital. Married 63 years to Sharon, together they built a life of love that radiated from them to everyone lucky enough to be in their orbit.
Lance is survived by his wife Sharon A. (Veatch) Jenkins, his children Rusty L. Jenkins and Shane K. (Jenkins) Dinsmore. He became Dad also to Angelika Jenkins, Jennifer Jenkins, Terry Lee and Melissa Jenkins. Grandfather to Sarah (Kevin) Green, Ronja (Pavan) Suswaram, Lance (Kate) Jenkins, Rebecca (Drew) Jenkins, Samantha (Nathan) Reyes, John (Felicia) Jenkins, Frances Dinsmore, Grayson Dinsmore and Harper Dinsmore. Great-grandchildren Lyra, Ballad, Bard, and Vivian. Sisters: Lynne (George) May, and Polly (Harry) Ridgeway. Lance was preceded in death by his parents Edith E. Potter and Adrian D. Jenkins, Garth T. Jenkins, Megan L. Jenkins, Emmie C. Green, and Willa V. Jenkins, his mother and father-in-law, Helen and Bernard Veatch, brother and sister-in-law Tom and Fumi Veatch, sister-in-law Janet Hiles.
Lance was easy to love, he had an uncomplicated way about him. Known for his easy smile and his big heart, he was generous to everyone. After their first date, Lance made a habit of picking Sharon up for work so she didn’t have to ride the bus to her job in downtown Columbus. Lance continued helping her however he could for the rest of their life together, helping with everything from the laundry and dishes to helping Sharon deliver gifts to charities. His children remember fondly the numerous times where he opened his home to his children’s friends, treating them as his own. In his later life, he loved to go to breakfast, often insisting on paying for the meals of his children and grandchildren or any friend who was invited along. Everyone knew his favorite meal for breakfast: pancakes with a bowl full of butter. His sweet nature even had the servers bringing him all the butter he wanted, often before the pancakes were delivered.
One of the things Sharon fell in love with was Lance’s sense of humor. Always witty, he could find humor in everything and they laughed their way through life. Some of the funniest stories with friends and family were told with Lance’s signature self-deprecating sense of humor. He always had everyone laughing along with him. Some of that humor came out in the poetry he enjoyed writing. His comedic timing was impeccable and he would often have a funny quip or bit of a poem that would slip out and have everyone laughing.
Lance loved deep and he was so proud of his family. He proudly told everyone about his sons, who were his heroes for their military service. Rusty is a veteran in the Army during the Gulf War as well as the Navy; Garth was a veteran as an Army Ranger. Lance was a veteran of the Marine Corps but liked to joke “They had to let me out so they would win the next war”. Lance’s love extended to his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. He loved to attend sports and music events and anything else he was invited to for his grandchildren. He got to know so many of his grandchildren’s friends, and he was known as ‘Grandpa Lance’ by so many. He helped in his granddaughters elementary school classroom and was adored by so many of the kids. He was always touched when a much older teenager came to say ‘hi’ at a football game or a band concert. He loved being a part of anything that was important to his family. He was a baby fanatic and adored holding all of the babies in the family. In Lance’s family there was an unwritten rule that if there was a baby, he was the first to have the chance to hold them and love them.
Love is the hallmark of this man. He was loved by so many and will be very, very missed. How blessed we are, all of us, to bear witness to what true love looks like, so that we may try to replicate it in our own unique ways. A locket he gave to Sharon reads: “I loved you yesterday, I love you still, I always have, I always will.” And we feel the same- always remembering him with an abundance of love, until we will all meet again.
Lance’s service will be held at the Savannah United Methodist Church in Savannah, Ohio on July 26th with visiting hours from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm and the service beginning at 3:00 pm. with Pastor Lori Weaver presiding. The service will be live streamed via the funeral home’s Facebook page.
For those unable to attend, online condolences may be shared on the funeral home’s website at denbowfh.com.
Denbow-Gasche Funeral Home & Crematory is handling the arrangements.
Funeral Home: Denbow-Gasche Funeral Home
Website: denbowfh.com