Donna Christen

Donna Christen, 95 of

Minot, passed away on

Saturday, September 26,

2020 in a Williston Nurs-

ing Home.

Donna Jean Jensen was

born June 16, 1925 in

Minot, ND, to Ellsworth

and Margaret (Galvin) Jen-

sen. As the daughter of

educators, she and her

younger brother, Tom,

moved to several rural

areas in their early years.

She began her education

in Crosby, ND, and later

in the Mountrail County

area. While in grade

school, she and her family

spent many summers

traveling and working in

the fruit orchards on the

West Coast. In the 9th

grade, she moved to

Minot to live with her

grandmother in order to

attend St. Leo’s High

School. She had fond

memories of days at the

movie theater and follow-ing the school basketball

games. She graduated as

class Valedictorian in

1941 at the age of 15. She

attended Minot State

Teacher’s College that fall,

graduating in 1943 with a

teaching degree. She

taught elementary school

for four years in Devils

Lake, ND.

Donna wrote letters

supporting North Dakota

servicemen fighting in

World War II, one soldier

later becoming her hus-

band. She married

DuWayne (Dewey)

Christen of Plaza on May

31, 1947. They raised

their family in Minot, ND.

She treasured her family

as a stay home mom,

overseeing their schooling

and catechism. She loved

supporting her children in

all their activities.

She was a big sports fan

from early on. When

Minot Parks and Recrea-

tion built the Hammond

Tennis Courts near her

home, she actively pro-

moted tennis to her fami-

ly. She also was a big fan

of the Minnesota Twins

and the Bishop Ryan

Lions. She attended every

ND State Class A Wres-

tling Tournament for over

thirty years.

Donna was a lifelong

member of St. Leo’s

Catholic Church where

she had been baptized

and later married. She

was a member of the

Catholic Daughters of

America from the time

she was 16 years old, at-

tended Bible study regu-

larly, was a lector for

Mass, and helped serve

many funeral meals for

her parish. Donna

delivered library books to

the homebound and

volunteered at Trinity

Nursing Home. She and

her husband also

delivered Meals on

Wheels.

Donna was an avid

reader and enjoyed sew-

ing. She and her husband

liked to play bridge and

dance. During her retire-

ment years she enjoyed

traveling and continued to

put her heart and soul

into supporting her fami-

ly.

She was able to remain

in her family home until

she was 90 years old, at

which time she entered

assisted memory care. In

2017, she moved to Bethel

Nursing Home in Willis-

ton.

Donna is survived by:

Sons; Tom (Lynne)

Christen, Rich (Victoria)

Christen, Bill Christen,

Dan (Tracy) Christen, Da-

vid (Pat) Christen, and

John (Angie) Christen,

Daughters; Kathy (Darrel)

Ahmann, Connie (John)

Holloway, Mary (Todd)

Fredin, Laurie (Jim)

Amell, 23 Grandchildren;

26 Great-Grandchildren;

Sister-in-laws; Joyce Jen-

sen, Elaine Larsson;

several nieces, nephews

and cousins.

Donna was preceded in

death by: her husband,

DuWayne “Dewey”

Christen; parents, Ells-

worth and Margaret Jen-

sen; Brother, Tom Jensen;

daughter, Julie Marie; and

sister-in-law Winona Nav-

ratil.

Visitation: Wednesday,

September 30, 2020,

2:00-4:00 pm,

Thompson-Larson Fun-

eral Home, Minot, ND

Vigil Prayer Service for

Family: Wednesday, Sep-

tember 30, 2020, 7:00 pm,

Thompson-Larson Fun-

eral Home, Minot, ND.

Mass of Christian Buri-

al: Thursday, October 1,

2020., 10:30 am, St. Leo’s

Catholic Church, Minot,

ND. Those attending the

service are asked to follow

the Covid-19 social dis-

tance guidelines.

The Funeral Mass will

be livestreamed and may

be viewed by going to

YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkw5w

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Burial: Thursday, Oc-

tober 1, 2020 at Rosehill

Memorial Park, Minot,

ND.

Memorials received will

be donated to the

DuWayne and Donna

Christen Scholarship

Fund at Bishop Ryan High

School.

Thompson-Larson Fun-

eral Home, Minot