Our beloved, sweet husband, daddy, grandpa, and great-grandpa, Gene K. Christiansen passed away on July 26, 2017. He continued to be a strong, self-reliant hero which inspired all who knew him.
He was born April 5, 1931 in Salt Lake City to Kristian John and Rigmor Elvira Hansine Christiansen. He graduated from West High School in 1949, and the University of Utah School of Business.
He served our country in the Marine Corps during the Korean Conflict in 1951-53. Then he served an LDS mission to Denmark from 1954 to 1956, the country from which his parents immigrated.
Gene joined Leone Renee Fyans in marriage in the Salt Lake Temple on March 20, 1959, and had 7 wonderful children. He served in many callings in his church and was dedicated to his faith.
He worked at Porter-Walton Seed Co, and the ensuing garden companies for over 40 years. He oversaw the seed packaging department and worked in sales for all those years.
He loved the outdoors and spent many happy times fishing and hunting, and many years camping with his family at Pole Creek in the Uintah mountains. He was a master gardener and shared his talents with countless friends. His neighbors could always count on him for garden tools or help with a project.
Gene was very generous to a fault and was without guile himself. He freely gave of his means and talents to any cause. Many years were spent in service to the scouting program, and he donated gallons of blood to the blood bank for as long as he could. He spent countless hours carving canes and walking sticks for friends and neighbors. In his later years, he and his older brother Joe enjoyed exploring in Southern Utah. They had wonderful times finding petroglyphs and dwellings of the Anasazi Tribes.
He is survived by his wife, Renee, and their children Michelle Solvej (Becky), Denise (Jim) Purser, Neil (Rosanne) Christiansen, Kjersti (Terry) Bryson, Bonnie Christiansen (Chris), Kristian Christiansen, and Sara Groberg. Gene and Renee have 19 grandchildren; Michael, Joshua, James, Nathan, Jacob, Elizabeth, Rachael, Rebecca, Sean, Jessica, Darcy, Kathryn, Ammon, Maren, Jade, Adrienne, Leone, Alice, and Drew, 5 great-grandchildren; Tige, Griffin, Colt Gene, Caoimhe, Lelan, and one on the way.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, July 29, 2017 at the River Ridge 3rd ward chapel, 1244 W. Chavez Drive (9700 S.) South Jordan, Utah. Friends may visit from 6-8:00 p.m. on Friday and 9:30-10:45 a.m. at the church prior to services. If Gene has given you one of his hand carved canes, please bring it with you so we can take a picture of you with your cane or walking stick.
Interment will be in the South Jordan City Memorial Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to www.operationsmile.org or the LDS Humanitarian Fund at www.pef.lds.org
