Lenore Kingston  Jensen

Army MARS

4 Oct 1913 - 5 May 1993

W6NAZ

AA6NAZ

Click to enlarge

Lenore Jensen

Newsline May 18, 1993 Copyright  used by permission.

We preceded last weeks newscast with a special advisory that said former radio drama actress Lenore Jensen, W6NAZ had died on May 5th in Sherman Oaks, California. Lenore was 79 years old when she passed away.  She was the widow of retired Broadcast Engineer Robert Jensen, W6VGQ, and in her own right was known as one of Amateur Radio's premier ambassadors of good will worldwide.

Lenore was first licensed in 1939 as W9CHD in Chicago where she was known as Lenore Kingston and worked as a contract actress for NBC.  She received the call sign W2NAZ when she moved to New York City in 1940.  Lenore became W6NAZ after World War Two when she and her first husband Joe Conn, W2MSC, moved to Los Angeles.

Most of Lenore's operating involved message handling and phone patching.  According to a profile in the December 1987 issue of QST, Lenore ran over 68,000 Army MARS phone patches during the Vietnam War.  She was also one of the thirteen surviving founding members of the Young Ladies Radio League, and the 1983 Dayton Amateur Radio Association's Special Achievement Award winner for -- and we quote "...her dedication in service to others through the medium of Amateur Radio."

From the mid 1970's until her death, Lenore efforts were especially important to the Amateur Radio public relations effort.  Her long and highly successful career in the entertainment industry permitted her access to many stars and celebrities who later appeared in ARRL released Public Service Announcements.  Lenore also appeared in several ARRL films and video's including the award winning "World of Amateur Radio" produced by Dave Bell, W6AQ in 1979.  W6NAZ was a regular contributing writer to Worldradio News magazine and anchored a number of Newsline broadcasts back in the late 70's and early 1980's when we were still known as Westlink Radio.

To us at Newsline, Lenore Jensen, W6NAZ was more than just another voice on the radio.  We had the honor of knowing her personally.  She was a warm, charming and intelligent human being that we immediately came to respect, and to love.  Even though you may not have heard her regularly on our newscasts, Lenore was an important part of our Newsline family.  Her passing leaves a void in all of our hearts.  We miss her and we promise to never forget who she was, what she accomplished and the living legacy that she has left for all radio amateurs, worldwide. 

We have been asked to announce that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Lenore's name to the ARRL Foundation, the Los Angeles Recordings for the Blind Association or the American Cancer Society.