Dennis Duane Christensen June 12, 1939 ~ January 10, 2025

Dennis Duane Christensen was born to Ray and Olive Melissa Jarvis Christensen on June 12, 1939. He passed away in Snowflake, AZ on January 10, 2025.
His father died when he was six, leaving his mother with 9 children at home and a small government pension. He would say, “I was born in Monticello in a one-room shack; it didn’t have a window, so we looked through a crack.”
He loved sports and excelled at most things he tried. He was Student Body President during his senior year at MHS. His senior class traveled from Monticello to Bluff for an end-of-year class trip.
He and a few friends decided to climb up the large cliff surrounding the swimming hole with a dummy they made, which they proceeded to throw off the cliff, terrifying the students and teachers below. He graduated from Monticello High in 1957.
In October 1959, he was called to serve a mission in the Finland Helsinki Mission. He served for 2.5 years. He love to speak Finnish until the day he died.
He recently had a bad day at the nursing home and woke up speaking only Finnish to the staff and was upset that no one could understand him. He served briefly in the U.S. Army Reserves and was discharged in 1969.
He met Kathleen Creamer at Eastern Utah College in Price. She didn’t like him at first but he was persistent. They were married and sealed in the Manti Utah Temple on September 4, 1965.
In June of 1968, he quit his job with Walker Bank and moved the family to Logan, Utah so that he could continue his schooling.
Kathy says, “We had some hard times making ends meet while going to school, but our friends were in the same situation. We loved living close to the temple and took advantage of every opportunity to go and do the Lord’s work.”
In 1969, Dennis went to work for First National Bank in Flagstaff, AZ. The bank job eventually led them to Cottonwood, AZ before he took a job with Farmers Insurance, leading them to settle in Holbrook where they continued to raise their family.
He sold insurance from 1971 to 2012 until back surgery forced him into retirement. He also ran many side investments. He was always very generous with the less fortunate.
The children were forced to move their parents to a nursing home where they were both treated for dementia. The nurse said every morning Dennis would kiss Kathy and tell her he loved her. Uncle Sam would drive down and visit almost every month.
Dennis is survived by his wife of nearly 60 years. Also his seven children Micah, Melissa, Nathan, Ryan, Glynis, Nelson and Lisa and their spouses, 25 grand children and 8 great-granchildren, with two on the way.
He is also survived by three siblings, Sam Christensen of Monticello, Marion Lovitt of Ness City, KS and Janis Shumway of Fredonia, AZ.
Services were held in Holbrook, AZ on January 18, 2025 and he was interred at the Holbrook Cemetery.