A celebration of life service for Darla L. Christianson will be at 11 a.m. Friday at First Lutheran Church. The Rev. Diane Odermann will officiate. Visitation will begin at 9:30 a.m. Friday and continue until the start of the service.

Darla passed away peacefully at her Thorne Crest Senior Living Community apartment on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. She was 79.

Darla Lou (Jensen) was born Feb. 26, 1936, to Leslie and Evelyn (Paulson) Jensen in Albert Lea. She was a lifelong resident of Albert Lea. Darla graduated from Albert Lea High School in 1954. She worked at the Piggly Wiggly store, where she would meet her husband, and also at Larson Grocery. Darla married Darrell Christianson on June 8, 1957, at Calvary Baptist Church in Albert Lea. The couple was blessed with four children.

Darla was a stay at home mom during the day and taught piano lessons after school. She was a member of the Domestic Engineers, TOPS and a Bunco group. In her free time she enjoyed to gardening with her husband. She loved playing piano, teaching others how to play and played every chance she could. Darla enjoyed baking for her family and she always tried to have cookies in the cookie jar and a cake on the table.

Darla was a breast cancer survivor, celebrating her 34th year of being cancer free. She had a loving soul and a contagious personality. She loved being with her family and enjoyed the annual trips up north to vacation with everyone in the family who could make it. She and the family were blessed to spend the last week of her life together, vacationing at her daughter’s lake home near Merrifield.

Those left to carry on her legacy include her children Dean (Kay) Christianson of Albert Lea, Darcey (Renae) Christianson of Anderson, Indiana, Dawn (Shane) Dahl of Clarks Grove and Danette (Dan) Diethert of Merrifield; grandsons Jason (Lisa) Christianson, Brian (Linds) Christianson, Ethan Dahl and Eli Dahl; great-grandchildren Ashlyn and Caleb Christianson; and siblings Ramona Walter of Fairmont, Douglas (Bette) Jensen of Albert Lea, Galen (Carol) Jensen of Fergus Falls and Emery (LeAnn) Jensen of Phoenix.

She is preceded in death by her parents; husband, Darrell; a brother in infancy, Clifford; and a brother-in-law, Rolf Walter.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22478, Oklahoma City, OK 73123.