By HDN Staff
LEONARD CHRISTENSEN
Leonard J. "Chris" Christensen, 78, died at his home in Havre on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2000.
A vigil service will be held at 7 p.m. Friday at St. Jude Church. Memorial Mass will be Saturday at 11 a.m.
Christensen was born in Sidney Aug. 13, 1922 to Jens A. and Marie Larsen. He stayed on the farm and attended country school until he was 10.
The family then moved to town and in his senior year, Christensen joined the CCC in Jordan. After graduation, the CCC sent him to Ketchecan and Annette Island in Alaska.
In 1942, Christensen joined the Army and trained at Fort Hood, Texas and at the Desert Training Center in California under Gen. George Patton. He served in Africa, Sicily, Germany and France as a communication specialist until his discharge in 1945.
Christensen attended Rocky Mountain College in Billings. He returned to Sidney and worked as a deputy sheriff and joined the Army Reserve. He subsequently became a Montana Game Warden, a career that extended from 1955 to 1985.
Christensen married Marge Gonzales in 1950 and they moved to Havre in 1955. He remained active in the Army Reserve, retiring as chief warrant officer W-4 in 1982.
The Christensens moved to Kalispell in 1987, where he stayed active in the jazz society and at St. Matthews Church.
Christensen was involved in Veterans of Foreign Wars, Fraternal Order of Eagles, Knights of Columbus, and was a life member of Elks BPOE. He was a member of the Game Warden Association and the Catholic Church.
Christensen was an avid fisherman, able marksman, outdoor enthusiast, wood crafter and affable person.
He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Lloyd; sister, Shirley France.
Survivors include his wife, Marge; son, Rick of Great Falls; daughters, Colleen Bulman of Trego and Kristine Tibbetts of Havre; brother, Jim of Australia; sisters, Lorraine Iverson Sawyer of North Dakota, Dorothy Dooley of Sidney and Minnie Dotson of Butte; two grandsons; many nieces and nephews.
Memorial donations may be made to Northern Montana Hospice or St. Jude School.
Holland & Bonine Funeral Home of Havre is handling arrangements.
