Maurice Christian
July 31, 1906 ~ March 20, 2008
Maurice Christian, 101, of Miller, passed away Thursday, March 20, 2008 at the Miller Good Samaritan Center.
Funeral services were held at 1:30p.m., Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at Reck Funeral Home in Miller with Rev. Allen Sager officiating. Burial was in the Wessington Cemetery. Visitation was held from 4:00-7:00p.m., Tuesday, March 25 at the Reck Funeral Home in Miller.
Maurice was born July 31, 1906 to Harry and Mary (Winans) Christian in St. Lawrence Township. He was the third of fifteen children. Maurice grew up in Burdette Township. He graduated from Highmore High School and later attended Northern State Teachers School. He taught country school for two years in Sully County. On June 3, 1929 he married Dena Leesman. They lived and farmed near Blunt until 1946. They later moved to his great uncles’ farm which was originally homesteaded in 1882. He married Myra Tranter in 1951. Maurice retired from farming and moved to Miller in 1986. He became a resident at the Miller Good Samaritan Assisted Living in 2002.
He enjoyed hunting and wood working. He would make lots of toys, picture frames and stands by using mostly wood from something else. Maurice was a member of the Miller Senior Center and enjoyed playing cards and was an avid pool player. He played every week until he broke his hip on December 23rd.
Grateful for sharing his life is his daughter, Carolyn Johnsen of Miller; grandsons: David (Jeanne) Johnsen of Valley City, N.D., Terry (Gael) Johnsen of Wessington, and Lynn (Dawn) Johnsen of Wessington; six great grandchildren; four great-great grandchildren; one brother, Frank Christian of Redfield; and one sister, Dorothy Sturdevant of Willits, C.A.
He was preceded in death by his parents; son, Willis in 1949, wives, Dena and Myra; grandson, Chris; son-in-law, Dale Johnsen; and great-great granddaughter, Anna Johnsen.
Pallbearers were David Johnsen, Terry Johnsen, Lynn Johnsen, Chris Johnsen, Shane Johnsen, Jeff Johnsen, and Gary Schmitgen.
Organist was Kristi Prince with congregational hymn, "Abide with Me." The soloist was Brian Bergeleen singing, "Amazing Grace" and "Rock of Ages."
Reck Funeral Home of Miller was entrusted with his arrangements.
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I will never forget Maurice. He taught me how to shoot my first BB Gun out by the barn. He introduced me to milk+saltine crackers in a cup. He was patient, kind, and would always take time to answer questions when I was a kid. He will be missed.
The video tribute is very nice and quite touching. There are so many memories one can accumulate over 100 years. Grandpa and his knowledge will be missed dearly. We send all of our love!
Love,
Jeff, Sadie, and Anna Johnsen
This is truly the end of an era. I have so many fond memories of Uncle Maurice. As kids we spent a lot of time with him and Aunt Sues. We were always so excited when we got to go to their place or Sues would stay over night at our house when Maurice would go on his hunting trips. He was a great man and will be missed by many.