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March 29, 2024 4:01 am
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Jensen Retires, Sells Optometry Practice To New Group

By MAGGIE MCMURRAY

Moapa Valley Progress

Dr. Randall Jensen

A longtime Moapa Valley fixture is retiring after serving the community for thirty-five years. Local optometrist Randall Jensen has sold his practice and has retired. The changeover to the new doctors is currently underway and the new owners will begin seeing patients today, on January 17.

“I have just loved serving this valley,” said Jensen last week in an interview. “The people here have been fantastic. It’s been a great place to raise our kids and we will miss it immensely.”

Jensen was born in Los Angeles, CA, but grew up in Salt Lake City where he graduated from Bingham High School. After graduation he attended BYU in Provo, UT, and after a 2-year break to serve an LDS mission in the Alberta Saskatchewan Mission, he graduated with a BS in biology.

From there, Jensen moved to Fullerton, CA, to attend optometry school for the next four years. Upon graduation from optometry school, he came to Las Vegas and was a partner with a doctor there for the next six years before making the jump permanently to Moapa Valley.

Jensen was married in 1976 to his wife, Carolyn, and they have five children and an ever-increasing number of grandchildren.

Jensen did not have any ties when he came to Nevada originally. During his senior year at optometry school, he was traveling home to Utah for Christmas break and was stopping all up and down I-15 to interview for jobs. He got a tip from a classmate that there was an optometrist in Las Vegas looking for a partner. So Jensen located a pay phone and called that doctor. Things worked out. Jensen graduated and relocated to Las Vegas and to work with that doctor.

Shortly after Jensen moved to Las Vegas, the area fell on hard economic times and business was down. So he decided to go to some of the smaller towns around Las Vegas to set up a satellite practice. A doctor from Mesquite had been covering the town of Overton but happily offered the small practice to Jensen.

A young local dentist by the name of Lance Robertson offered to make room for Jensen on the weekends when his own dental practice was closed and Jensen jumped at the chance.
“I am very grateful for Lance Robertson,” Jensen said. “If it hadn’t been for him, I don’t know if I ever would have been able to make the jump.”

At the time, Robertson was working out of a trailer situated on a spot of land across from the Overton post office where the library is now located. Every Saturday, Jensen packed all his equipment up in a van and drove out to the valley to unload it into the trailer. He saw patients all day before loading everything up again and driving back to Vegas.

Carolyn came with him on those long days to serve as his frame stylist and receptionist. She often had to bring the newest baby along with her.

As Robertson’s practice grew, he was eventually able to make room for Jensen to add Fridays and then Mondays to his schedule. Upon finding himself working in Overton three days a week, and in Mesquite for one, Jensen decided it was time to make the move. So in 1988, he moved his family to Moapa Valley. He rented the old Overton Power district building on Jones Street in Overton where he had his office for eight years.

In 1996, Jensen once again formed a partnership with Robertson. With the addition of chiropractor Bret Staley, they broke ground on their current office building on Moapa Valley Blvd and Ramos Ranch Rd. Jensen has kept his practice active in that building for the last 21 years.

Jensen had originally planned to keep working for several more years,. But about two years ago, he was introduced to a young optometry student that wanted to come be his junior partner upon graduation. That started the wheels turning in Jensen’s head while he waited for that young student to graduate.

That arrangement eventually fell through. But the student passed the word to another young optometrist who passed it to another who recently got in touch with Jensen and offered to buy the whole practice. The practice was officially sold on January 5, 2018.

Jensen said he is excited about the doctors who will be taking his place. The practice was officially bought by Dr. Joshua Terry from St. George. But due to Terry’s current schedule serving the needs of St. George and Caliente, it will be Dr. Kent Bennion who will be running the local office from day to day. Dr. Bennion actually moved to Moapa Valley with his family last September when school started in anticipation of this event taking place.

Other than the change in doctors, patients won’t notice much difference, Jensen said.
“Everything is staying, including the staff,” Jensen said. “They are a fantastic staff and have helped everything run smoothly for me every day and will continue to do that for Dr. Bennion.”

Jensen is unsure about his current plans for the future. He would like to serve an LDS mission with his wife as soon as possible. After that he said they will have to see what happens.

“We have children scattered all over the western states,” he said. “So for now we’re leaving our options open.”

Those who would like to wish Jensen well, and meet the doctors who will be taking his place, are invited to an open house on the evening of January 18 from 6-8pm. There will be a cold cereal bar (which Jensen has always wanted) and a chance to vote on everyone’s favorite Jensen family photo through the years.

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