A Celebration of Life was held for Rick Christiansen on Saturday, March 27, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Henning, Minnesota with Pastor Keith Lankford officiating.  The hymns were sung by the congregation, accompanied by Wilma Morse. Special music was provided by Gail Guse.  The Urnbearers were Leah Christiansen, Dan Wischer, Ben Wischer, Kyle Wischer, Tom Schroeder, Jason Christiansen and John Nilges.  

On March 23, 2021, Ricky Lee Christiansen passed away peacefully at Sanford Hospital in Fargo N.D., with his family by his side. Rick was born on May 22, 1952 to Rosella (Barry) and LeVoy Christiansen in Glencoe Minnesota. He was baptized into the Lutheran faith in Hector Minnesota. Ricky grew up on a farm near Hector with his brother Gary and then later moved to Granite Falls, Minnesota. Rick graduated from the Granite Falls High School with the class of  1970. He continued his education at Granite Falls Vocational School where he received his degree in Fluid Power. This is where he met his wife, Deb, when they both attended school in Granite Falls. On September 23, 1972 Ricky was united in marriage to Debra Ella Wischer  at Hope Lutheran Church in Minneota, Minnesota.  Their marriage was blessed with two children, Sara and Jon.  Rick and Deb made their home in St. Paul and then later moved to Marshall where he was employed with Schwan’s.   

Rick worked for Schwan’s Sales Enterprises from 1973 until his retirement in April 2010. He continued his working career at Kesteloot Enterprises (Tom) until March of 2019 where he and Deb moved to their dream retirement home in Ottertail. To Rick, Kesteloot Enterprises wasn’t  just a job, but something he thoroughly loved doing and  enjoyed working with and spending time with all of his co-workers and his boss Tom, who truly was never bossy, but just a true friend and neighbor.   

Rick’s enjoyments included hunting and fishing with family, especially his son Jon, daughter-in-law Brittany and granddaughter Leah. With Leah, they shared many laughs while swimming, four-wheeling, poking fun at each other and many other outdoor activities.  He thoroughly enjoyed teaching and sharing his knowledge of remodeling tips, to include everything from drywalling, carpentry, plumbing and a bit of electric with his daughter Sara and his son-in-law Mark. The love of his life was his wife Deb whom shared all the same dreams with him. They truly lived a life of equals, where you found one working on a project you found the other. They always had a project going, whether it was at their dream cabin, their son’s home or their daughter’s home. Rick was always ready to help anyone who needed anything. If he didn’t know how to do it, he would figure it out. He was truly the “jack of all trades”. He enjoyed gardening as he learned all of the tips of the trade from his brother Gary. In Rick’s spare time, if he wasn’t watching Westerns, he was reading gardening books from Gary. Rick truly enjoyed spending time with all of his brothers-in-law, whether it was during their hunting and fishing trips or just hanging out. His true companion was his dog Max, where one went the other followed. Max will be lost without his best friend.   

Preceding Rick in death were his parents, Rosella and LeVoy Christiansen.   

Ricky is survived by his wife Debra of Ottertail; two children, Sara (Mark) Oscarson of Henning; Jon (Brittany) Christiansen of Verndale, Minn.; and granddaughter Leah; brother Gary (Marilyn) Christiansen of Alexandria, Minn., and many other friends and relatives who he loved dearly.   

Thank you for your kind thoughts and prayers, he will be dearly missed by all.  As Rick would say “Remember me with smiles and laughter, because that is how I will remember you all. If you can remember me only with tears, then don’t remember me at all…” 

-The family of Rick Christiansen