Paul J. Christiansen, 89

First of five generations of Paul Christiansens

Paul J. Christiansen, 89, died Aug. 26, 2011, at the Quail Creek Nursing Home in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Paul Jurgen Christiansen was born March 12, 1922, in Charter Oak, Iowa, to Paul C. and Martha (Koch) Christiansen. He received his education in the Charter Oak Community Schools. He attended the American Institute of Business in Des Moines, Iowa.

He was baptized in Christ on April 28, 1922, at St. John Lutheran Church in Charter Oak, where he would be confirmed on April 5, 1936. As an adult, he transferred to Trinity Lutheran Church in Blair, and later to Zion Lutheran Church in Denison, Iowa.

He was drafted into the United States Army during World War II, serving from Dec. 28, 1942, until Nov. 25, 1945. He earned the following medals: Good Conduct, European African Middle Eastern Service Ribbon, American Theater Service Ribbon and the WW II Victory Ribbon.

He married Betty Volmerhausen on June 2, 1946, in Ellicott City, Md. The couple had three children.

On Sept. 15, 1978, he married Marjorie Wakefield in Blair.

He worked his way from clerk to store manager for Safeway grocery stores in Denison, Fort Dodge and Council Bluffs, Iowa, as well as Omaha and Blair.

He was an Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL) district representative from 1964 to 1967, but resigned and returned to work for Safeway, retiring in 1984.

Mr. Christiansen was a member of the "We Go Campers," and "Wheelin' Sams" chapter of Good Sam's Campers Club. He was a permanent member of the American Legion Post 274 in Herman.

He is survived by two sons and daughters-in-law, Paul H. and Josie of Palacios, Texas, and Thomas and Lora of Crescent, Okla.; daughter, Cynthia, of South Lyons, Mich.; brother and sister-in-law, LaVerne and Laverne Christiansen of Denison; step-son and step-daughters-in-law, Wilber and Diane Wakefield of Rochester, Minn., and Pat Wakefield of Herman; numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren, leaving a legacy of five generations of the name Paul Christiansen; other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his wives, Betty and Marjorie; a brother, Carol; and step-son, Les Wakefield.

~~~Obituary courtesy of Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska~~~

Note: Army, WWII, entered December 28, 1942; honorably dischanrged November 25, 1945

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