Paul Mandell Christensen, 76, of Marshalltown, Iowa, entered into eternal life Monday, Aug. 11, 2008, at the Marshalltown Medical & Surgical Center while under the loving care of their staff, his family and the Iowa River Hospice. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the Elim Lutheran Church. Burial will be in the Riverside Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Pursel-Davis Funeral Home & Crematory where the family will be present to greet friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Iowa River Hospice or the Marshall County Red Cross. Condolences may also be sent to his family at vogelfuneralhomes.com. The Pursel-Davis Funeral Home & Crematory is caring for Paul and his family.
Paul was born on Nov. 23, 1931, in Cannon Falls, the son of Mandell Paul & Stella (Johnson) Christensen. He grew up in the area of his birth and graduated from the Albert Lea High School and Hamilton Business College. On Dec. 23, 1952, he was united in marriage to Mary Kathleen Shannon in Mason City, Iowa. Paul honorably served our country as a Corporal in the United States Army from 1952 to 1954. He graduated from Iowa State University in 1959 with a degree in Electrical Engineering and moved to Marshalltown following graduation. Paul was the first electrical engineer hired by Fisher Controls to head up a new Electrical Engineering Division which is now located in Austin, Texas. He worked for Fisher Controls for 26 years — including two and a half years in Europe before retiring as Business Group Director — Final Control Systems, in 1985.
He was a member of Elim Lutheran Church; Treasurer of the Marshall County Red Cross for seven years; Gold Card Member of SCORE; a 12 year SHIIP volunteer at MMSC; a Paul Harris Fellow with Marshalltown Rotary and past president of Elmwood Country Club. He enjoyed music, golf, annual fishing trips to Canada and spending time with his family.
He will be missed by his wife of 56 years, Mary K. Christensen of Marshalltown; his three children: Kathy (Dale) Heinrichs of Marshalltown, Karen (Jeff) Stille of Ankeny, Iowa, and John Christensen (and his fiancé, Michelle Kuker) of Auburn, Neb.; his brother, Dave (Judy) Christensen of Albert Lea; four grandchildren: Josh Stille of Ankeny, Shaena (Travis) McGivern of Charlottesville, Va., Ben Heinrichs of Chicago, and Beth Heinrichs of Marshalltown.
In eternal life, Paul joins his parents and step mother, Mildred Peterson.