Our Friend Lee R. Christensen Has Passed On

Lee R. Christensen

January 19, 1922 to June 2, 2018

He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad.

Lee Christensen (Buddy) became suddenly ill last week and passed away at the hospital on Saturday. He was very healthy physically and mentally right up until a few days before his death. He died peacefully and without pain.

Lee was born in Chicago, Illinois, where his father was attending law school at Northwestern University, on either November 19, 1921 or January 19, 1922 (dependent on whether you go by the date Lee's family celebrated or his birth certificate). After his father's graduation from Northwestern, the family returned to Mt. Pleasant, Utah, where Lee was known as "Buddy." Lee spent his summers either working on his grandfather's sheep ranch or on a summer project assigned by his father (e.g. minding a cow and selling milk, growing and selling potatoes, chopping down trees and selling the firewood).

Lee played in the marching band at Hamilton grade school, and initially attended North Sanpete High School. During his junior and senior years, Lee attended Wasatch Academy, where in his 1939 yearbook, it was noted that, "he has the type of mind you can sharpen your own on." Lee graduated from Wasatch Academy in 1940 as vice-president of his senior class.

Shortly after graduation, Lee enlisted in the Army, where he was selected to attend Officer Training School in 1942, and was sent to Europe to serve on the front lines of WWII. Lee participated in the invasion of Normandy on D-Day IV, where he was wounded in battle on August 1, 1944 on the outskirts of Percy, France.  He was back in action on December 15. If you're a WWII buff (like Lee) you will remember that Hitler had planned his Ardennes offensive (Battle of the Bulge) to begin on December 1.  Per Lee, "Hitler was trying to start it before I could get back to the front. Hitler failed and the rest is history..."  Lee was discharged from the Army on December 26, 1945 as a First Lieutenant.

After the end of the war, Lee continued in the Army Reserves (making rank of Major) and was a life-long amateur historian in WWII. He completed his bachelor degree in Political Science at UC Berkeley on the GI Bill, and was then hired by the federal government to work for its relatively new "start-up" – the Social Security Administration. Lee spent his entire career working for the SSA, helping ensure individuals understood social security and received their benefits. Lee retired from the SSA as an assistant regional commissioner out of the Seattle office.

Lee was an outdoor enthusiast and summited Mt Rainier twice.  He loved all animals and never met a dog that didn't love him. Lee had a very rich Mormon background. All of his grandparents were born in Utah. He had great-grandparents in Nauvoo, Illinois, and all of them migrated to Utah by 1860, some as early as 1849. His father served a two-year mission in Norway from 1909 to 1912. Despite this, Lee was not a Mormon; although he studied genealogy and his family history (in the days before the internet, when everything was on paper records!)

Lee met Barbara Davis at Berkeley, and they married in December 1949.The couple divorced after raising three daughters (Kitty Christensen, Tracy Trick, and Robyn Christensen-Sandfort). Lee is survived by his three daughters and two grandchildren (Thomas Lee Sandfort and Maya Zichun Sandfort), and four sisters (Ruth Klass, Ginger Keville, Sally MacArthur, and Dottie Smith).

Per Lee's wishes, there will be no service. Brookside Funeral Home is assisting the family. Lee will be cremated and his ashes spread on the ranch in Yakima, WA, overlooking the hills and mountains that he loved.

 In lieu of flowers, please donate to one of the following organizations:

-          PAWS:  https://www.paws.org/support/donate/

-          America's VetDogs: https://www.vetdogs.org/AV/HowtoHelp/AV/HowToHelp/howtohelp.aspx?hkey=677506ac-919b-46bf-8ca8-52a79662f43d

-          Wasatch Academy: http://wasatchacademy.org/giving/

Lee proudly shares Wasatch Academy News:


http://www.maxpreps.com/news/s47LEl8tm0yaFrYm_R8F-w/wasatch-academy-thrives-as-boys-basketball-independent-in-utah.htm

Wasatch Academy Football Wins 9 Games over North Sanpete's 1 ~ 1924-1933 ~

In the ten years 1924 thru 1933 the North Sanpete  Rams beat the Wasatch Tigers just once – 1929.  That year a  team quarterbacked by Eugene (Ganny) Peterson and starring Neil Hafen, end and Vernon Christensen, fullback,  out scored Wasatch  for the first time in coach Brunger’s tenure.  They were not to do  it again for another five years. 

 The Wasatch team was quarterbacked by Johnny Becker though not from Mt Pleasant he did marry a Mt Pleasanter. The Wasatch line was anchored by two local boys, Dee Keusseff and Dick Candland and I would guess sitting on the bench, Glen Williams and Fremont Draper.     

   Both quarterbacks returned to their  high schools as teachers, Ganny to coach and Johnny to teach social studies;   where he made freshmen girls giggle with his risqué stories. 

The football game between the Wasatch Tigers and the North Sanpete Rams, played in early November, was among the five top events of the year in the  Mt Pleasant ‘30s, ranking just behind the Junior Prom and just ahead of the opening of deer hunting.  The climatic event preceding the game was a torch light parade that started on the North Sanpete campus. There nearly 200 students would  each pick up a flaming torch and in unison all march down Main street and on   to the corner of 1^st West and 2^nd South where they would throw their torch onto a flaming bon fire mid street. . Wasatch students would be circled around their fire.   For the next 30 – 40 minutes students from both schools sang, shouted, rang bells, tooted horns and banged drums hoping to make enough noise to carry thru to  next day’s game.      All the games were memorable but the game played 11 November 1938 unforgettable.  There was not even a threat of snow during the torch light festivities but during the night 10 inches of snow fell.   The game was to be played at North Sanpete so they called on the hiway graders to scrape the field.  Coach Brunger sensing Wasatch players had to stay warm bought long johns for the team... .... .... .... (Cleaned out J C Penny’s)

.      Wasatch scored first just before the half with a play that brought smiles to the rooters of both teams.    Wasatch had driven from mid field to the 3 yard line.  From there Dewey Fills, a running back, was given the ball to charge into and thru the line for the score.  Five yards into the end zone he was met head on and tackled by his younger brother, Elmer, North Sanpete’s safety.  The referee whistled loud and long and charged Elmer with a penalty only to be told by Dewey “don’t penalize him Ref, I’ll take care of the kid tonight at home’”.  Final score: Wasatch Academy 19 -   North Sanpete  0,    Fillis Family  tied. 

North Sanpete High School ~ 50th Class Reunion ~ May 1990

   This was the speech I gave at the 50th  class reunion of  North Sanpete’s class of 1940    I had gone to school with the Mt Pleasant students in this class for 10 years prior to switching to Wasatch  Academy for my junior and senior years.   These were my Hamilton Grade  school classmates of 1934.     Barto and Pinky were both Fairview and they came to North Sanpete for their  junior and senior years.   My dating Barto was when we were both sophomores ,she in Fairview and me in Mt Pleasant.   

   After high school Barto and Pinky married and lived happily every after in southern California.   

   North Sanpete’s ENN – ESS – AITCH 1940 yearbook was lent to me by Reva Cox Fillis  for scanning the photos of those mentioned in the speech.   Sorry I did not get a better photo of Pinky but he was not in the student section and I had to scan him off the basketball team.  Even there he is better looking than I remembered.    lee

Coach Brunger and Lee

Lee's additional comment:   Again I’m attaching the photos intended to go with page 320 of “Buddy”.  Little or no improvement.  When your eyes are closed improvement is nil and  the dark dullness remains but if usable along with the story  they are yours .     lee

Lee and Beth Reminisce

The following is taken from Lee R. Christensen's Book: "You Knew Me As Buddy"; a collection of letters he wrote to friends who grew up in Mt. Pleasant. Beth is Beth Lund.

August 7, 1998
Dear Beth,
A daughter of El’s would be a niece of Mary Margaret. If she lives in Delaware, she lives in
Mary Margaret’s backyard. Did she mention her? How is she?

El, Wasatch class of 1925—about 1 5 years older that we are. I do not remember her dentist
husband. If he practiced in Mt. Pleasant it was probably not for long. We had two other dentists.
Dr. Phillips married to an aunt of Mary Hafen. Lived down Jane Britton’s way. And Dr.
Peterson, the one the Christensen kids went to. He was a Fairview contemporary of Rosses.

At one time, Holman the doctor, Peterson, the dentist, and Christensen, the lawyer shared the
top floor of a building midway in the OM Aldrich block.
Dr. Peterson had a brother who was also a dentist—Glendale, California. Keith, his son and
a classmate of Ruths, also a dentist, LA area. All three grads of University of Southern California.
Saw Keith at Ruth’s North Sanpete 50th.

I have to guess that our Mt. Pleasant dentists had helpers, but if so, who were they? Holman
had Carrie Hafen as his nurse. Christensen had so little work as a lawyer that he mostly did
his own typing. Olea may have worked for him some. Patsy Hones mother, or maybe it was
her sister, typed some. He would occasionally have one of the high schools send a typist
over. Carol Reemtsma worked for him. I’ll have to ask her what he paid. Twenty-five cents
an hour would have been tops. Then again, maybe the high schoolers did if for the experience.

Carol worked at Wasatch for her board, room and tuition. I’m sure she was always short
spending money. She told me once that until she got to college she had never had a dress that
did not come from the Church’s charity box.

Carol’s mother was from a prominent Purdue University faculty family. Her maternal grandfather
had a Liberty ship named after him in WW II. Carol’s father, a Presbyterian minister
in the American Indian service. While all church mice are poor, church mice on Navaho
Indian reservations are poor poor. Kathryn Goudberg’s father also minister on Indian reservation.


Don’t shed any tears for Bill Clinton—unless you feel as I sometimes do in my more tolerant
moments, that he personifies the frailty of man. The Fall of Adam so to speak. He is intelligent,
good looking, energetic, charismatic, caring—and addicted. Lying being one of them.
And don’t shed any tears for Monica. She represents the klieg lights seeking notoriety of a
Hollywood wannabe who is a mean, greedy, scheming, blackmailer.

I wish it were a better world. But bad as it is—and it is very bad, it is better than it has ever
been. It is getting better, but probably not fast enough to save us from some megalomaniac
addicted to power-the ultimate addiction.

LR
P.S. Saga out about 20th In keeping with Utah History it will be delivered by Pony Express.

Be prepared to clean up after the horse.

Buddy as Master of Ceremonies Wasatch Alumni Day 1990

Lee Remembrance of Mt. Pleasant ~ 60th North Sanpete Reunion ~ Nancy and Ronnie, Bill and Monica

The Following comes from Lee R. Christensen's book:

 "You Knew Me As Buddy and other Tales"

His book is a compilation of letters he has sent to friends over the years.  His memories of going to school at Hamilton Elementary, North Sanpete and Wasatch Academy are filled with his wonderful humor.

Beth is Beth Lund (maiden name)

Wasatch Academy "1940" Prestigious Alumni Award ~ Given to Lee R. Christensen

Taken from Lee R. Christensen's book:  "You Knew Me As Buddy".

KATHY:  There is a letter to Mary that goes with that award.  

It was a group award,  and I ‘m thanking Mary  pages 134 35.   

lee

KATHY,  My baseball cap is on backwards so my face  would show up in the

photo.   LEE

Whatta Guy !!!