97°F
weather icon Clear

95-year-old grand marshal shares the secret to his longevity

More than 40 friends and family celebrated Emil Janssen’s 95th birthday on Saturday, June 8 at the Pahrump Senior Center.

Janssen, a co-founder of Pahrump Family Mortuary, will serve as grand marshal for this year’s Fourth of July parade in Pahrump, and says the secret to his longevity is simple: “God hadn’t called me yet.”

Born in Montevideo, Minnesota, in 1929, Janssen served 2-1/2 years in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany from 1946 to 1949, where he met and married his first wife, Inge, until her death in 1998.

By then, Janssen had retired, after working at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power for 21 years, and moved his family to Pahrump in 1995.

That’s where he met his second wife Mildred, and where they founded Pahrump Family Mortuary.

“We worked hard, I bought the land out there in 1999, and I developed it [doing] most of the work in my 70s,” Janssen said.

He credits his strong work ethic and Midwest values to his mother.

“When I was about 10 years old, we lived on a farm and everybody else was busy,” he recalled. “[My mother] said, ‘Why don’t you get going and clean the barn.’ I said, ‘Ah, ma, that’s a dirty job.’”

She got real serious and told him, “Emil, I want you to listen to me now. You go out there and do that job. You thank God every minute you’re doing it, and you think of all the crippled people that can’t.”

That stuck with him all his life, he said.

“You know, if you have a difficult job, do the job and thank God you’re able to do it,” he added. “She would tell me, ‘You don’t have to have money to have principles.’”

Janssen has always been generous and compassionate, oftentimes donating plots or funeral services to those who couldn’t afford it.

“My creed is faith, hope and love,” he said. “Faith in God, hope for the future, and love my family, my country and my job. God has blessed me.”

Janssen’s two daughters, Janet Janssen and Carmen Murzyn organized the celebration for their father, which featured Johnny V, an Elvis impersonator, who performed and acted as DJ, a three-course dinner, and a cake made by Janssen’s friend and Holiday Task Force member Linda Wright with 95 candles.

John Clausen is a freelance journalist in Pahrump.

MOST READ
THE LATEST
GALLERY: Homeschoolers come together at Steampunk Soiree dance

Homeschool students of Pahrump and the surrounding areas were invited to celebrate the start of a brand new school year with their very own homecoming dance — the Steampunk Soiree.

After 25 years, an empire of junk in Pahrump is being sold

After 25 years, Smitty, the owner of a local salvage yard, says he’s ready to call it quits. You might know him from his blunt classifieds in the Pahrump Valley Times that advertise the parts, machinery and other fixer-uppers he’s sold over the decades.

Beatty burros are burdening town — officials aim to remove some members of massive herd

The Bullfrog Herd Management Area, which includes Beatty, is grossly overpopulated with wild burros. According to previously stated management goals, the population of the animals should be kept to around 80 burros, but it has far exceeded that number for years. The last time a gather was carried out, there were more than 800 burros, and the BLM removed more than 400, which was the capacity of the agency’s holding facilities.

GALLERY: See photos from Pahrump’s Purple Heart Day

Military service often comes with sacrifice and National Purple Heart Day is intended to honor those who have suffered wounds or made the ultimate sacrifice with their lives in defense of America.

GALLERY: Helen Keller Days raises $2k for local Federation of the Blind Chapter

The 2nd Annual Helen Keller Days took place with members of the Southern Nye County Chapter of the Federation of the Blind coming together with community supporters for an afternoon of fun and excitement, all in the name of fundraising.

GALLERY: How Pahrump marked Juneteenth

Several members of the community met at the Black Cow’s open-mic session on Wednesday evening, followed by a candlelight vigil at the corner of Highway 160 and Basin Avenue in the Petrack Park parking lot. Hymns and songs of freedom were sung by the group to mark Juneteenth in Pahrump for the fourth year since President Joe Biden signed the nation’s newest holiday into law in 2021.

Nye GOP Chairman: ‘A sad day in America’

In the wake of former President Donald Trump’s felony conviction, members of the Nye County Republican Party are standing by the 45th president, according to party chairman Leo Blundo.