Nancy Suzanne Christianson was born on February 10, 1930 to Ernst and Mary (Dugan) Juhl in Rock County, Minnesota. Nancy was baptized and confirmed in Rock County and was later a member of the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Aberdeen and Lutheran Memorial Church in Pierre. Nancy grew up on a farm outside of Luverne, MN where the family raised purebred Duroc hogs. The family held auctions that were attended by people from across the country. Nancy was an active member of 4-H and won a blue ribbon in showmanship at her county fair which led to her being the first female to show a hog at the Minnesota State Fair. She graduated from Luverne High School in 1948 and continued her education at the University of South Dakota.

Nancy met her future husband Raydon (Ray) Christianson at the university and reportedly helped many of Ray’s fraternity brothers, who were returning solders from WWII, with their course assignments. She married Ray on June 17, 1951 in Luverne. After their marriage she worked for the federal government in Aberdeen, SD and Minneapolis, MN until she left to raise two sons. When her sons entered grade school, she attended Northern State University and graduated with a degree in Elementary Education. She taught 4th grade at Lincoln Elementary School in Aberdeen until her retirement in 1986. In 1988, Ray and Nancy moved to Pierre, SD, to be closer to family, where she was living at the time of her death.

Nancy loved to cross stitch and was exceptional at it. She enjoyed her time with her cross stitch group and the group would often take road trips to visit stores in other towns. In their later years, when it became more difficult to travel yet staying true to their tradition, the out of town road trip became an overnight stay in Fort Pierre. She treasured her husband of 61 years, her sons, Mark and Bob, grandsons Eric and Marcus and met her great grandson, Alexander. She would check-in twice daily to see if there was any new update in the family and would often say one of her greatest joys was to be a part of her grandsons’ lives. In later years she developed a love for gardening and could be found tending to her flowers and vegetables.

Grateful for having shared in her life are Mark and his wife Mary (Skulborstad) of Bolingbrook, Illinois; Bob and his wife L. Ann (Harrington) of Pierre, S.D. and their sons Eric and Lisa (Weber), Marcus and Corey (Wannamaker). She cherished getting to hold and welcome her great grandson Alexander into her family. She was preceded in death by her husband, sister and two brothers.

In lieu of flowers or memorials, please perform an act of kindness while holding Nancy in your heart and memory.

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