Esther Christensen
| Date of Interment or Death | 05/01/2021 |
|---|---|
| Location | Garden of Prayer |
| Block and Lot | 061C |
| Grave | 4 |
Obituary
Esther Helen (nee Olson) Christensen, 92, was born to Olen Enger and Alice Christine (nee Moe) Olson on April 26, 1928 in Pierpont, SD, the youngest of a family of five children. Her father farmed near Langford and growing up one of her chores was shepherding sheep. At the age of 9 she lost her mother to tuberculosis. She was graduated from Pierpont High School in 1946 and attended Northern State Teachers College in Aberdeen. She was working for Aberdeen optometrist Stewart Kirkpatrick as an eyeglass technician when she met her future husband Norman Christensen, a trainee at Aberdeen's First National Bank. They were married in 1955 and moved to Minneapolis where he began a career in banking. They moved to Mandan, ND in 1959 and to Wahpeton in 1968. Esther was an accomplished soprano singing in church choirs for most of her life, and was often heard practicing for the next wedding or funeral for family and friends. She was also a lifelong golfer, winning tournament awards, even achieving a hole in one. Her husband Norman died in 1985, and for the next 20 years became a snowbird driving from North Dakota to a second home in Clearwater FL with her beloved poodles Buffy and MissC. She moved permanently to Omaha in 2005 within walking distance of her Lutheran church. She loved her independence and made many friends, and treasured her Shih Tzu Muffy. She is preceded in death by her mother Alice, father Olen, stepmother Louise (Wake) Olson, sisters Mildred (Stan) Surma of Waubay SD and Eunice (Norman) Tastad of Saskatoon SK, brothers Maurice (Mildred) Olson of Webster SD and Rev. John (Kay) Olson of Kalispel MT. Survivors include sons Jon (Pam) Christensen of Omaha and Jim (Muriel) Christensen of Palatine IL; grandchildren Megan (Brian) Campbell, Carrie (Kurt) Miller, Alissa (Aaron) Miller, Erica (Chris) Bellows of Omaha, Kelley Christensen of Champaign IL, Kevin Christensen of Chicago IL; Lisa (Tim) Lyle; Wendy (Aaron) Wellman, Heidi (David) Carlson, and nine great-grandchildren: Aidan, Alex, Ava, Sophia, Aria, Max, Ryan, Trevor, Tatum.
Services will be held on a future date to be determined in Wahpeton, North Dakota.
Headstone photograph(s)
Location
The Garden of Prayer is located in the Memorial Gardens, which comprises the northern half of the cemetery.