Tracy Christensen, 1922-2014

Published 10:02 am Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Funeral services for Tracy E. Christensen, 91, of Freeborn will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Bayview/Freeborn Funeral Home. The Rev. Kent Otterman will officiate. Interment will be in Freeborn Cemetery. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Online condolences are welcome at www.bayviewfuneral.com.

Tracy Christensen

Tracy Christensen

Tracy died June 3, 2014, in Portland, Ore., where she was living near her daughter.

Tracy was born Sept. 18, 1922, in Gordonsville to Verian (Snyder) and Frank Buchanan. She was the sixth child of seven children. In 1924 they moved to Freeborn and Tracy started school in the fall of 1927, graduating from high school in 1940 from Maplewood Academy in Hutchinson. She was a lifetime resident of Freeborn County.

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On Aug. 7, 1940, Tracy married Marvin Edwin Christensen at Bath. They moved to the Christensen farm in Bath Township, and all of their children were born while they lived there.

Marvin and Tracy had five children, Dennis, Loren, Lowell, Lynette and Joyce. Through the years they opened their home to several children, including Maxine Vanderploeg of Albert Lea, and several foster children. They moved to a farm in Hartland Township for about ten years; then they bought the Snyder Buchanan farm in Freeborn. It became a century farm in 1957.

Tracy was a key leader during the years the children were in 4-H and worked with the home demonstration program. She also worked with Elsie (Snyder) and OG Christgau during the time the Freeborn County Historical Museum was built in 1961, and Tracy was the first woman to serve on the board of directors. She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and also worked with the Freeborn County Genealogical Society for many years working on locating and indexing cemeteries, country churches and did extensive research on country schools in Freeborn County 1857-1964, when the last country schools were closed or consolidated. This led to her writing the book, “The History of Freeborn County Schools,” in 2008. Tracy was a member of the Albert Lea Seventh Day Adventist Church. She will be deeply missed by her family and friends.

Surviving are two sons, Loren Clifford (Helena) Christensen of Onalaska, Wis., and Lowell Frank (Evelyn) Christensen of Prior Lake; two daughters, Lynette Patricia (Raymond) Holm of Happy Valley, Ore., and Joyce Elizabeth (William) Cochran of Derwood, Md.; two grandsons, Russell (Melissa) Holm and Andrew Cochran; six granddaughters, Darcy Dolan, Veronique (Fred) Clarke, Rebecca (Alex) Pagotelis, Tracy (Kenneth) Joseph and Brenda (Todd) Nagele; five great-grandsons, Nathan, Alexander, Nathan, Owen and Weston; and eight great-granddaughters, Nicolette, Samantha, Savannah, Ellie, Natalie, Abby, Lucey and Sophie.

Tracy was preceded in death by her son, Dennis Marvin, on Feb. 27, 1952, and her husband, Marvin E. Christensen on March 3, 2014. Also preceding her in death were her parents and four brothers, William Fremont, Leland, Gerald and George Lyndon Buchanan and two sisters, Winona Brannan and Janet Bailey.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Freeborn Area Heritage Society Box 196 Freeborn, MN, 56032 or Maplewood Academy, 700 Main St. Hutchinson, MN, 55350.