Current Age 91, born in 1922

Chas has 8 children, 24 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild

He was married two times. He had two children from his first marriage to Inez. She passed away in the early 1950's from a virus. His second wife, Mary Ann, had three children. They had three more together, for a grand total of eight.

Chas was born near Modale, Iowa on a farm by the river. The only bridge across the river at that time was the railroad bridge. This bridge is how they got to the Washington County side.

He lived most of his life as a farmer in or by Washington County, Nebraska. For about 20 years, however, he worked as a manager for Walnut Grove 4 X 4 Feed Company in Kearney, Nebraska.

He went to a rural school in the Blair area. He attended through 8th grade. Chas described his school years as being rough. He had a four mile walk each way. He missed a lot of school and consequently missed out on a lot of the information given. He did not do as well as he would have liked.

He had to take a mandatory 8th grade exam, but failed on his first attempt. He attributes his failure to trouble he had with the McCormick brothers on his way to take the test. This left him a little frazzled. When his teacher saw the results, she told him he could do much better and recommended he retake it. This time he passed with all A's in all five subjects. His teacher's name was Luella (Suverkrubbe) Christensen. Currently Chas and Edith Quinlan are the only two remaining students who graduated together.

Chas confessed to getting into a little trouble while he was a kid. Not much, though--he never had to stay after.

Things were rough for Chas at home when he was a kid as well. He remembers working a lot. At the age of five he had his first chore. He had to help milk cows, feed cows, and clean out the barn.

Chas remembers having some time to play typical kid games--mostly outside. Charlie shared a story about ground squirrels and gophers. He and his brother would take a fine wire and rig it by their holes, so that the wire would snare them. These guys may have had too much free time.

They also had a small creek on their farm. The boys dammed it up to form a small pond. It didn't work. When they tried to jump in, they discovered it was more mud than water.

When Chas got older, he realized that he loved to dance. He knew how to do most dances including the Fox Trot and the Waltz. He frequented many dances throughout his life.

Chas's first vacation was to El Paso, Texas. They went across the river into Mexico as well. He remembers the small children in Mexico begging for food or money. They also visited a large, beautiful cathedral while in Mexico, which he remembers well. He remembers stopping in New Mexico to see the Carlsbad Cavern, and going to Greensburg, Kansas to see the world's largest hand-drilled well.

The vacation happened because a neighbor invited them all to ride down with them in a big Chevy. It was while on this trip that his wife became ill. Not long after they returned to Kearney, she passed away, leaving him to raise two children alone.

He later married a lady, Mary Ann, who was initially married to a distant relative. She had three children with this man. This man did not treat her well. After she divorced him, she married Chas. They had three more children together.

After retiring, they returned to Washington County and lived in Kennard.

Mary Ann passed away a year and a half ago, after living for some time at Crowell Home.

Five to six months ago, Chas found it too difficult to take care of everything on his own, and also moved into Crowell Home. I'm sure he is entertaining everyone with his interesting stories.

#2 Published in Omaha World-Herald from Mar. 5 to Mar. 6, 2014

Christensen, Charles A.

Age 92

Blair, Nebraska. Survived by children: Charles (Lola) Christensen, Ron Christensen, Bob (Andrea) Christensen, Deb (Allen) Harris, Dan Christensen, Charlene Wysocki, Carl (Barbara) Christensen; sister, Christine Rosenbaum; several grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.

FUNERAL SERVICES will be held at 10am Friday, March 7, 2014 at Grace United Methodist Church in Kennard. Burial will be in the Blair Cemetery. VISITATION with the family present will be held Thursday from 6-8pm at the Campbell-Amen Funeral Home in Blair. Memorials are suggested to the Grace United Methodist Church in Kennard. CAMPBELL-AMAN FUNERAL HOME Blair, NE 402-426-2191 www.campbellaman.com

#3 From Funeral Folder:

Charles Axel Christensen the son of Nels P. and Della L. (Lake) Christensen, was born January 4, 1922 on a farm near Modale, Iowa. Charles lived most of his life in Washington and Douglas counties. He was united in marriage to Inez Christiansen and to this union they were blessed with the births of Karen, Charles and Ronald. After Inez’s passing, Charles was later united in marriage to Mary Hager. To this union Charles’ family grew with the introduction of Carl, Robert and Debbie. Charles and Mary were blessed with the births of Dan, Marlene and Charlene. Charles spent a large part of his working career working for Walnut Grove Feed Company, retiring as a branch manager after 28 years of service. Charles loved to spend his time fishing and working on woodworking projects.

Charles was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Inez (Christiansen) Christensen; wife, Mary (Hagar) Christensen; daughter, Karen Rose; sisters: Ruth Lautrup and Rose Staben; brother, Alfred Christensen; daughter-in-law, Peggy Christensen; grandsons: Steven Christensen and Tim Christensen; great-grandchildren: R. J. Andrews and Hannah Lemke.

Charles is survived by children: Charles (Lola) Christensen, Ron Christensen, Bob (Andrea) Christensen, Deb (Allen) Harris, Dan Christensen, Charlene Wysocki, Carl (Barbara) Christensen, Marlene Schulte; sister, Christine Rosenbaum; several grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Arrangements By Campbell-Aman Funeral Home, Blair, Nebraska (402) 426-2191

Note: Funeral service was Friday, March 7, 2014, 10 a.m. at Grace United Methodist Church, Kennard, NE. Officiating was Pastor Russ Foust. Music selections were "Amazing Grace" and "Old Rugged Cross" and "In The Garden".

Pallbearers were: Tyler Christensen; Tom Christensen; Clayton Wysocki; Kent Christensen; Nathan Schulte; Chad Gusman; Dan Sanderson.

Interment was at the Blair Cemetery, Blair, Nebraska

Note: The Pilot Tribune published the same obituary as the funeral folder on Tuesday, March 11, 2014.

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

FindaGrave #125901992