Harold Leslie Jenkinson

Harold Leslie Jenkinson was born on September 15, 1925 in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, the son of Leslie and Rose Jenkinson. He grew up in Detroit Lakes and graduated from Detroit Lakes High School. He served in the U.S. Navy in World War II as a Hospital Corpsman and was honorably discharged in 1946.

He married Ruth Sunram in Detroit Lakes on October 6, 1947. The couple lived in Moorhead, Minnesota, where he worked for Central Lumber Company. In 1950 he began studies in architecture at North Dakota Agricultural College (now North Dakota State University) and graduated in 1955. He worked for the firm of Kurke Associates as a designer and project architect. Projects with the firm included the Hawthorne Elementary School, the Fargo Moorhead YMCA, the Hanson-Runsvold Funeral Home, and a number of residential commercial and educational facilities. He was a registered architect and a member of the American Institute of Architects. In 1961 he began his academic career in the Department of Architecture at NDSU as a design studio critic. He was appointed Assistant Professor in 1960, Associate Professor in 1967, and Professor in 1974. During his tenure in the Department of Architecture he served as Department Head from 1973 to 1975, Assistant Chair from 1978 to 1988, Department Chair from 1988 to 1989, and Architecture Division Director from 1989 to 1990. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1971 to 1972 and was awarded the Master of Architecture degree. While at NDSU he served on numerous committees including several building committees for NDSU facilities. He retired in 1990 with the title Emeritus Professor of Architecture. He was principal architect of his own firm since 1962, and designed many residences in Fargo-Moorhead and in the Minnesota lakes region. He also served as a consultant to other local and regional architectural firms.

Harold enjoyed summers at the family cottage on Cotton Lake. He loved to fish, but his greatest passion was sailing. He particularly enjoyed restoring sailboats. Traveling was a favorite pastime and he and Ruth spent many winters in Arizona and Florida. He was a member of Olivet Lutheran Church. Survivors include his wife Ruth; two sons, Bruce, Minneapolis, Minnesota and Thomas, San Francisco, California; a sister, Mary McConville, Mankato, Minnesota, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother Paul Jenkinson.