John Christianson, age 72 of Bismarck formerly of Bottineau, passed away on Wednesday, November 17, 2021 at a Bismarck hospital.  His memorial service will be held on Saturday, November 27, 2021 at 1:00 pm at the Lake Metigoshe Christian Center.

In Lieu of flowers the family requests that memorials be given to the Metigoshe Rural Fire Dept. and Bottineau Amvets Post 25.

John Olaf Christianson was born January 29, 1949, to Engvald and Rose (Thon) Christianson in Crosby, North Dakota. He was raised on their farm near Wildrose, ND. John attended a one room school near the farm and went on to graduate from Noonan High School in 1967. Upon high school graduation, John attended North Dakota State University from 1968-1969, followed by voluntarily joining the armed forces in 1969. John received training at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina where he then served as a Green Beret with the 82nd Airborne Division at Chu Lai, Vietnam until 1972.

John met and fell in love with Barbara (Peggy) Fix while working for Mattson Construction in Minot, ND. John and Peggy were united in marriage on December 22, 1973 at Crosby, ND. His marriage vows also included the adoption of her four children. The family moved from Minot to Bottineau where he received an associates degree in Forestry and Parks & Recreation from North Dakota State University at Bottineau. Upon his graduation, John began his career as Assistant Manager at Lake Metigoshe State Park. John and Peggy welcomed John E. Christianson who was born August 22, 1976. John was devoted to the Park Service for 10 years. He loved raising his family in the State Park where he taught his children the value of hard work, fishing, hunting and camping skills. The family then moved to their permanent home on Lake Metigoshe where he took employment at Metigoshe Bible Camp for three years. His love of the outdoors took him to the ND Forest Service where he served as FEPP Technician until his retirement in 2011. John and Peggy moved to Mandan in 2020 due to health issues.

John coveted his lake time, fishing, pontooning and visiting friends. John enjoyed wood carving, planting trees, flowers and gardens. He was multi-talented at many things; cooking, baking, and sewing just to name a few. One of John's favorite passions was to use his woodworking skills to make personalized gifts for his family. John was an avid reader and could remember every detail.

John unselfishly served his community. He was a volunteer fireman for seventeen years, a member of the Metigoshe Rural Fire Dept and the rural EMT team. He was an active member of the Metigoshe Christian Center where he served on the church council while making life-long friends. John was THE BEST storyteller and joke teller in the world. Time spent with John most certainly included at least one new joke that likely started with "Did you hear the one about Ole and Lena?" He loved getting together at the kitchen table to play pinochle and other games with family and friends.

John was fiercely proud of his children. He loved watching his children grow up, get married and most importantly welcoming his ten grandchildren and two great-grandchildren into the family. John had a special relationship with each of his grandchildren and they will always cherish their time with him.

John was preceded in death by his parents, Engvald and Rose Christianson; son John E. Christianson, sister Judy Salveson, brother in-laws Wayne Salveson and Dennis Wehrman; and sister in-law Sharon Johnson.

John is survived by his wife Peggy Christianson of Bismarck, ND; children Trevor (Karen) Christianson of Cavalier ND, Damion (Reyna) Christianson of Dallas TX, Rachelle (Chris) Lamoureux of Minot ND, and Russel (Donna) Christianson of Jacksonville FL; grandchildren Seth Christianson, Taylor (Gina)  Christianson, Kali Christianson, Casey (Natalie) Christianson, Damion Jr. Christianson, Savana Christianson, Peyton Lamoureux, Karew Lamoureux, Jessica Christianson and Jacob Christianson; great grandchildren Charlie Christianson and Malachi Christianson.