Brady Bensen

Len Bensen Obituary Word was received here this week that Carbon County native, local businessman, expert fisherman and world renowned river guide and outfitter Len Bensen, 77, passed away peacefully Sunday, March 29, 2015 at the Palisade Living Center in Palisade, Colo., surrounded by his loving son, wife, a sister-in-law from Denver and two sisters from Wyoming. No services will be held at this time. Len was born in Encampment, Wyo. Feb. 21, 1938 to Lorna (Hopkins) and Ernest Bensen and lived in Encampment until he was two years old when his family moved to Rawlins and then to Saratoga when he was in third grade. He graduated from Platte Valley High School (now Saratoga H.S.) in 1956 and was President of the FFA and active in basketball and football. He helped organize the first Wyoming State High School Rodeo in Saratoga. He also loved hunting, fishing, snow and water skiing and built himself a motorboat to use on the Saratoga Lake. After attending the University of Wyoming briefly he went to Alaska to find work with his friends Ted and Jerry Wilson but the union wouldn’t approve a work permit for him at that time so he headed back to Wyoming. Len served his country in the U.S. Army Airborne Infantry from 1960-1962 and was in the 101st Paratroopers division. In high school Len was a guide on the river for Verg Teter. Bensen later bought the outfitting service near the River Street Garage along the Upper North Platte River on Bridge Street from Ken and Verg Teter and renamed it Len’s Sport Shop. Len was married to Pat Wilson Crow on July 1, 1966. He was a loving, caring father to Pat’s daughter, Kathy Crow, and then to his son, Brian, who was born in 1970. He loved his family and friends and was always willing to help whenever they needed him. In the 1970’s he and Pat built a bigger store near the North Platte River on Walnut St. where the couple operated the guide and outfitting business until the 1980’s. While in the business Len purchased some rafts and used them for white water floats on the upper river and for scenic floats on any stretch of the river. He also built his own wooden square ended boats to float the river. Old Baldy Club then borrowed one of his boats and they built some just like it to use in their guide service. The couple also sold Arctic Cat Snowmobiles and had cross country skis at their store. Len was active in starting the Chamber of Commerce in Saratoga and served as vice president. He spent a lot of time at Boat and Travel Shows talking about what Saratoga could offer to the sportsman as well as serve as secretary of the Wyoming Guide and Outfitters Association. He built a road on BLM land with their permission into Douglas Creek so that he would have another access to the river. After selling the sporting goods business and guide service he purchased a portable sawmill and built many barns and cabins all over the valley and near Walden, Colo., with the help of his son, Brian, and Bill Naylor. He spent several years working in Hanna at the coal mines and was active in the logging business and worked with his brother-in- law Tom Hanson and his nephew Sterling Arnold. He owned a pair of Belgian draft horses, Whitey and Cindy, and used them on the Brush Creek Ranch taking guests out for rides and also participating in various parades. He also used them to skid the logs that were used in constructing the Rawlins National Bank building in Saratoga. Other interests included attempting to build a ski area near Encampment, serving as an active member of the ski patrol at the Ryan Park Ski Area in the 1950’s, helping his nephew, Randy Arnold, at the Lufkin Ranch where he learned to rope steers and help with branding and other ranch duties. In 2006 Len suffered a serious injury after cutting some beetle killed trees near Encampment. He was on a life flight to Casper from Rawlins where doctors said he would probably not live through the night. He had four spinal cord injuries, broken ribs and an occipital lobe stroke which affected his eyesight. Doctors said he would probably not walk again. After three months of rehab in a center in Loveland and then in Cheyenne and some rehab at Carbon County Memorial Hospital and a Saratoga nursing home physical therapist he survived and walked again. Len and his wife Pat moved to Grand Junction in 2012 where they lived with their son, Brian and his wife Scothia. The Bensens later moved to an assisted living facility for several months until Len became too ill to stay there. He was in a nursing home for several weeks and then moved back to his son’s house where he lived with his wife and son. He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother Louis, brother-in-law Tom Hanson and son-in-law Brian Aikin. Survivors include his wife Pat of Grand Junction, a daughter Kathy Aikin and grandchildren Anna, Mitch and Emily Aikin of Reno, Nev., his son Brian and wife Scothia of Grand Junction; two sisters, Ruthie and Bob Blake and nephews Chad and Curt and their families of Centennial, Wyo. and Erma Hanson and nephews Sterling and Randy Arnold and Tom Hanson and niece Becky Hanson all of Saratoga. plus many good friends, cousins, nieces and nephews. Also surviving are his in-laws, Jody and Phil Saba and family of Arvada, Colo. and Rick and Janie Weiss and their son Danny of Phoenix, Ariz. and their daughter and her family, Lisa Weiss of Denver, Colo. Persons wishing to remember the family as asked to plant a tree in Len’s memory do something kind for someone who needs help or donate to a charity of their choice. Pat wrote, we will forever be grateful for all the help we received from the wonderful people in Saratoga and other areas. We are also very grateful for the care and kindness Len received at Hope West Hospice Center in Grand Junction. Condolences may be sent to either Pat or Brian Bensen, 2391 H. Road, Grand Junction, CO 81505 and Kathy Aikin and family at 280 Boxer Dr., Reno, NV 89512.