Funeral services for John W. Christensen, 90, Cherokee, formerly of Aurelia, will be 11:00 A.M. Wednesday, October 27, 2010, at the First Congregational Church in Aurelia. Burial will be in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery, rural Aurelia. Visitation will be Tuesday from 4:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M., with the family present from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M., at the First Congregational Church in Aurelia, with Pastor Bruce Rapp officiating. The Redig Funeral Home in Aurelia is in charge of arrangements. A memorial fund has been established
John died Saturday, October 23, 2010 at the Paula J. Baber Hospice Home in
Fort Dodge, IA.
John Wallace Christensen was born July 19, 1920, the son of Leonard Edward and Viola Fredericka (Backer) Christensen in Aurelia, Iowa. He earned eleven letters in high school sports, and played for the Aurelia town baseball team as a teenager. He graduated from the Aurelia High School in 1938. John attended Drake University for one year, and was a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. He served in the U.S. Army during WWII.
On September 20, 1941, John was united in marriage to Lois Annajane Whitney
at the United Church of Christ in Aurelia. To this union three children were born, two
daughters, Sue and Jill, and one son, John Jr. (Jack). John was a banker in Dunlap for one year and in Aurelia for 43 years. He served as a volunteer fireman in Aurelia from 1953 to 1963. John was a director of Peoples Telephone Co. for 27 years, was the Aurelia School district treasurer for a number of years, prepared income tax returns for many years, was on the committee which founded and built Sunset Knoll, and was one of the founders of the Aurelia Golf Club where he served in various positions. He was also a member of the Aurelia Kiwanis and the American Legion.
In 1985 John and Lois moved to Ft. Myers, FL, to spend their winters, returning to their home in Spirit Lake, IA, where they lived permanently from 1992 until 2003. John moved to the Beck in Cherokee in 2005.
John was an avid golfer for more than 62 years. Over the years he attended the Masters and two US Opens, the Army-Navy football game as well as pro, Big Ten, and college games. He also attended World Series baseball games. He enjoyed doing crossword puzzles, and reading to the children during story hour at the Aurelia Library for Kiwanis.
Preceding John in death were his parents, his wife Lois on June 19, 2004, and one sister, Eileen Arneson.
Survivors include two daughters, Sue and her husband Irv Hubbard of Des
Moines, and Jill and her husband David Rebhuhn of Woodstock, GA, and one son,
Jack and his wife Jean Christensen of Fort Dodge. Also surviving are eight grand-children, Mike and his wife Ferrol Hubbard of Des Moines, Matt and his wife Anita Hubbard of Nottingham, England, Todd and his wife Robin Christensen of Lake Worth, FL, Andrea and her husband Paul Holst of Cedar Falls, IA, Monica and her husband Andy Shelly of Ft. Dodge, Mindy Christensen of Chicago, IL, Shelley and her husband Chris Ballantyne of Aurelia, and Mark and his wife Jenny Mummert of Woodstock, GA, 16 great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandson, and many extended family members and friends.