Roll Call Tribute

Carl Jorgen Christensen 

August 21, 1947 - August 17, 2024 

Carl was born in 1947 in Casper, Wyoming, and he was born a cowboy that belonged on Casper Mountain or Deadhorse Hill. A story of him looking for his missing dog and asking to borrow a neighbor’s horse as a youth personified his cowboy nature.

He was a man of many passions: a passion for family, including his six awesome grandkids, his artwork, his architecture, his love for food and cooking—he never met a meal he didn’t like—always remembering even the meals he and Pixie had on their honeymoon, stamp collecting, gardening, his dogs, especially Codee Jean, and traveling. But most of all, his life reflected his passion for Jesus and the Word of God.

Carl grew up with an idealistic approach to life, always seeing the way things should be in God’s perfectly designed world. Carl was honest, fair, generous, loving and overwhelmingly grace-filled. Carl would give the shirt off his back to strangers, never spoke of his own self but listened earnestly to whoever was around, encouraging those to seek their God-given talents. He loved deeply, gave richly, shared generously and lived fully.

His early years were spent as an All-American boy, and those formative days carried on through until the day he left us. Travels, hiking, coaching hockey, playing the guitar and sipping coffee on the front porch of his beloved Casper Cabin. Memories ran deep, traditions ran deeper and preserving his Danish Christensen roots were as important as life itself.

With his architectural skills, he served on various missionary projects in Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, and Canada. His professional career included designing a hospital in Houston, still there, and various professional buildings, houses, and several churches. His crowning achievement was his book Lone Star Steeples which featured Carl’s artwork of 67 historic Texas churches and Pixie’s writings on the churches’ backstories.

His family moved often while growing up, and Carl spent his junior and senior high years in Calgary, but ended up in Houston when his dad had been transferred for work. THAT led to Carl’s application to and acceptance at Texas A&M University architectural school and THAT led to his blind date with a young Texas-native gal and within two months, they knew marriage was in the future.

During their 55 years of marriage, they lived in Houston, Billings, MT where they added Anne Hensen to the family, Colorado Springs, CO, and Orange County California before returning to Texas. In California, Carl became active in the Southern California Walk to Emmaus and Chrysalis where he worked 4 – 5 teams per year. In his retirement years, he was a devoted friend, father and grandfather. He loved attending football games, basketball games, dance recitals, musical events, soccer games in California and beach time with grands there. He was able to use his architectural skills on Llano’s Main Street Board, and his artwork to design a poster celebrating the solar eclipse viewed from Llano.

Many weren’t aware of Carl’s daily struggles to simply breathe. His devoted hospice worker Sunny, became a great support, along with his daughter Keenan, son Paul and wife Pixie. Within the last few months, Carl was able to travel to California one last time to see his Granddaughter Shyanne’s graduation, spend travel time with Ian and Gillian, enjoy a birthday celebration for his August birthday and spend special time with family and friends. Though the spirit is always willing, his debilitating disease prevented a long-awaited trip to the cabin. The family will be returning Carl to Deadhorse Hill and his beloved Casper Mountain, while he currently resides in the presence of Jesus, breathing deeply in the grace and love of His Savior.

He is survived by his wife, Pixie, daughter --Keenan and Toby Fletcher, son-- Paul and Chyra Christensen, grandkids Ian, Hollie, Gillian Fletcher, Shane, Shyanne, Shaylee Christensen, and big sister to Keenan and Paul, Anne Hensen, brother Mark Christensen and his wife Margaret plus numerous nephews, nieces, cousins and extended family and his beloved Codee Jean (dog).