The Celebration of Life Memorial services for 56-year-old Jay Douglas Thysen of Elk Horn, Iowa, will be held Friday, July 8, 2022, at 11 AM at the Elk Horn Lutheran Church. The family will meet with friends Thursday evening, July 7, from 5 PM until 8 PM at the Kessler Funeral Home in Exira. A private family inurnment will be held at a later date. The Kessler Funeral Home in Exira is in charge of arrangements.
Jay Douglas Thysen, the son of Gary and Mary Ann (Wadd) Thysen, was born January 15, 1966, at the Audubon County Memorial Hospital in Audubon, Iowa, and died May 30, 2022, in an automobile-motorcycle accident in rural Adair County, Iowa at the age of 56 years, 4 months and 15 days.
Jay was baptized and confirmed at the Elk Horn Lutheran Church in Elk Horn, Iowa. He attended the Elk Horn Community Schools graduating with the High School Class of 1984. He then attended Western Iowa Technical College in Ida Grove where he studied plumbing, heating, and cooling. Jay then moved to Council Bluffs where he was employed by a business doing plumbing, heating, and cooling.
On August 16, 1991, he was united in marriage to Karen Gregory in Council Bluffs, Iowa. They had two children Tina and Junior. Over the next several years they lived in Harlan, Elk Horn, and Marne, Iowa before moving to Atlantic, Iowa in 2002 where they lived for the next 18 years before moving back to Jay’s hometown of Elk Horn, Iowa. Jay continued to work in the plumbing industry until his passing.
Jay was a member of the Zion Lutheran Church in Atlantic. He was a member of the Local Union 33 and Union 16. He enjoyed riding his motorcycle, archery, hunting, and the outdoors and looked forward to the “Breakfast Club” with his friends on Saturday mornings. But his true passion was being with his family and spending time with his grandchildren and his little dog Jes.
Preceding Jay in death was his infant son Junior Thysen; his father Gary Thysen; and his brother Bruce Thysen.
Survivors include his wife Karen Thysen of Elk Horn, Iowa; his daughter Tina and husband Michael Killian of Atlantic, Iowa, his grandchildren: Dahlia Killian, Owen Thysen, Olivia Killian, and Isabelle Killian all of Atlantic, Iowa, his mother Mary Ann Thysen of Elk Horn, Iowa; his sisters Shelly and husband Curt Swensen of Audubon, Iowa; and Renee and husband Shawn Gessert of Harlan, Iowa; his brother-in-law Neal and wife Kim Gregory of Georgia; his sisters-in-law Angela and husband Jim Pembrook; and Debbie and husband Tom Toepper all of Illinois and his parents-in-law Albert and wife Maria Gregory of Florida; nieces, nephews, other relatives, and many friends.
