Paul J. Christiansen

Paul Jurgen Christiansen was born March 12, 1922, the son of Paul C. and Martha Koch Christiansen. He passed away on Friday, August 26, 2011, at the Quail Creek Nursing Home in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, at the age of eighty-nine.
Paul was born in Charter Oak, Iowa, and received his education in the Charter Oak Community Schools. He attended the American Institute of Business in Des Moines, Iowa. He worked his way from clerk to store manager for Safeway Grocery Stores in the locations of Denison, Fort Dodge, and Council Bluffs, Iowa; and Omaha and Blair, Nebraska. He was an Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL) district representative from 1964-1967, but resigned and returned to work for Safeway, retiring in 1984.
Paul was drafted into the U.S. Army during WWII on December 28, 1942, and discharged on November 25, 1945, earning the following medals: Good Conduct; European African Middle Eastern Service Ribbon; American Theater Service Ribbon; and the WWII Victory Ribbon. He was united in marriage to Betty Volmerhausen in Ellicott City, Maryland, on June 2, 1946, and to this union were born three children. He married Marjorie Wakefield in Blair, Nebraska, on September 15, 1978.
He was baptized in Christ on April 28, 1922, at St. John Lutheran Church in Charter Oak, and later confirmed there on April 5, 1936. He transferred to Trinity Lutheran Church in Blair, Nebraska, and then to Zion Lutheran Church in Denison, Iowa, after retirement. He was a member of the "We Go Campers," and "Wheelin Sams", Chapter of Good Sams Campers Club; and a permanent member of the American Legion Post 274 in Herman, Nebraska.
Paul was preceded in death by his parents; his first wife, Betty, his second wife, Marjorie; and one brother Carol. Survivors include two sons: Paul H. and his wife, Josie; and Thomas and his wife, Lora; one daughter, Cynthia; one brother, LaVerne and his wife, Laverne; two stepsons: Wilbur and his wife, Diane; and Les and his wife, Pat; numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren, leaving a legacy of five generations of the name Paul Christiansen; other relatives and friends.