John Edward Christensen (Ltc, Usa, Ret.)

On Friday, May 29, 2020, John Edward Christensen passed away at the age of 91 at the Woodland in Farmville, VA.

John was born on November 13, 1928 in Waterville, Kansas to the late Chris and Mabel Christensen. He grew up on a farm and graduated from the Waterville Kansas High school in 1943 and then worked for a local produce company picking up eggs until he went to college. During this time, he also served 3 years in the Kansas National Guard, attaining the rank of Corporal in Battery “B”, 154th Field Artillery Battalion. John received his Bachelor of Science in Geology at Kansas State University in 1954 and was commissioned through the Reserve Officers Training Corp as a 2nd Lieutenant and began a 22-year Active Duty career in the United State Army Corps of Engineering, retiring in 1977 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. During his military career he earned various awards including the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal w/Oak Leaf Cluster; National Defense Service Medal w/Oak Leaf Cluster; Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal w/Device 60, Vietnam Cross of Gallantry w/Palm. While on Active Duty he also earned a Master of Science in Geology in 1964 at Iowa St University in Ames Iowa and a Master of Business Administration from Troy State University. While in the Army, John and his family served in a wide variety of locations in the United States and in Germany and Turkey. John served honorably away from his family in both Korea and Vietnam. He then worked for 20 years as an Engineer for several tech companies in the Washington DC area. John moved to Farmville in 1998 and resided there until his passing.

John is survived by two sons, Paul Evan married to Chong Tae and David Edgar married to Lethu, from his marriage of 43 years to Rose Marie Laue Christensen. John and Rose’s eldest son, John Edward Jr, was lost to childhood leukemia at the age of 3 in 1956. Both surviving sons are married and gave him the joy of three grandchildren, Danielle Marie, Amanda Ho married to Jonathan Graef, and John Christian married to Tara Purdham and two great-grandchildren, Natalie and Noah.
John spent many off hours volunteering for church, school and civic organizations that supported the activities of his family and was always there for family and friends. He was very active as a leader in the Boy Scouts as a District Commissioner and was awarded the Silver Beaver Award for his distinguished service. John also enjoyed spending time with the cats he adopted TCharlie and Bella .
A visitation was held on Saturday 6 Jun 20 4-6PM at Puckett Funeral Home 115 Covington CT Farmville, VA 23901 Phone: (434) 391-3830
John will be interred in Arlington National Cemetery at a date and time TBD.

Instead of flowers. contributions can be made in the name of John E. Christensen:
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) https://www.lls.org/ LLS is the global leader in the fight against blood cancer dedicated to funding research, finding cures and ensuring access to treatments for patients.

United Community https://www.unitedcommunity.org/ Since 1969, United Community Ministries now known as United Community has served our community by empowering adults, children, and families to transform their lives. Founded by several faith-based groups and a handful of dedicated volunteers, the organization evolved from a small grassroots effort to now the only comprehensive human services nonprofit agency in southeastern Fairfax County serving more than 9,000 disadvantaged individuals annually.
The Southside Society to Prevent Cruelty to Animals http://southsidespca.org/get-involved/donate-online/