Obituary of Bessie Christensen

Bessie Marie Christensen was born in Snyder, Colorado on February 12, 1926 to Edmund and Bessie DeGryse. She passed away in Hugo, Colorado, on April 21, 2016, after celebrating her 90th birthday with family and friends in February. Bessie grew up on the family farm in Snyder through the depression with her one brother, Glenn, and five sisters, Ada, Ruby, Renelda, Donna, and Joann. Although it was a difficult time in rural Colorado, she said she didn't remember wanting for anything. She did, however, tell stories of the terrible dust storms. Bessie was valedictorian of her class and captain of her basketball team at Snyder High School. With seven siblings, it was a busy household. After graduation, she moved to Fort Morgan and became a telephone operator. It was then that she met and married Everett Christensen at her parents' home during the blizzard of 1946. Bessie and Everett had four daughters, Linda Holland (John), Ellen Copley (Bill), Diane McIntosh (Raymond), and Debra Cline (Phil). They farmed and ranched in Washington and Morgan County Colorado prior to moving to Limon in 1967. Bessie spent her final years at Carla's Cluster Care in Limon, where she was loved. Bessie was a dedicated member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Brush and Zion Lutheran Church in Limon, where she taught Sunday School, sang in the choir, quilted, worked with the Ladies Aid, and even shoveled snow in the early years. The church and her relationship with God was very important to her. Bessie was a very faithful Christian woman, who always tried to see the best in everyone. Bessie was also an avid gardener who could make anything grow, a talented seamstress, a wonderful cook/baker, an avid fisherman, and an ardent Denver Nuggets fan. Bessie was so very proud of her grand children, Mark Copley (Irene), Kristin Ehrlich (Neil), Amanda Ndaya (Henri), Kyle King (Megan), Beth Quereau (Matt), Emily McIntosh, and Shawn McIntosh, as well as her nine great grand children, and four great great grand children. Playing games with them, teaching them to shoot a basket or fish, attending their activities, or just talk to them gave her much joy. Bessie was preceeded in death by her husband, Everett, her sisters Ada Stanley (Ray), Ruby Stumburg (Bob), Renelda Scott (Andrew), and Donna Burch (Richard), her brother-in-law Robert Christensen and Loral Johnson, and her sisters-in-law Erma Osleson (Slim) and Ruth Sagel (Elmer). Bessie is survived by her four daughters and their families, her brother Glenn DeGryse (Dorothy), her sister Joann Skaggs (Larry), her brother-in-law Edgar Christensen (Carol), her sister-in-law Elna Johnson, many nieces, nephews, and friends.