City Clerk is Death Victim

HENRY CHRISTENSEN HAD BEEN PUBLIC SERVANT OVER LONG PERIOD

Ill only a few hours, City Clerk Henry Christensen died suddenly at his home on east Grant street, Tuesday morning. The 69-year-old Blair man’s death was attributed to a heart attack.

Quiet in manner and unprepossessing, Mr. Christensen was one of the most public-spirited men in the community. Few knew the full extent of his long record of faithful service. A resident here since August, 1914, he had served as mayor of Blair for two years and as city clerk for 13 years.

Mr. Christensen also lived in Washington, Nebraska for 13 years prior to the time he came to Blair. He operated a general store, served as postmaster from 1901 to 1914, and also was a director of the Washington school board.

Born in Lolland, Denmark, on July 19, 1875, Mr. Christensen came to this country at the age of seven. He spent his boyhood in Hamilton County, Nebraska, working his way through school.

Coming to Blair about 1892, Mr. Christensen attended Dana College for several years. As a young man, he learned the printer’s trade, and he worked on several publications, including the Danskeren and the Blair Pilot. For a number of years he was foreman of The Pilot, a forerunner of the Pilot-Tribune.

On September 14, 1899, he was married to Leonora Platz. Two children were born to the couple. One son, Lawrence, died in 1910.

Surviving are the widow and a son, Donald Platz Christensen serving with the Navy somewhere in the Pacific.

Mr. Christensen had been a member of the Lutheran Church since his confirmation at Hampton, Nebraska at the age of 14. He was a member of Blair’s I.O.O.F. He was prominent, also in the Woodman of the World, in which organization he held both state and national offices. He had ben financial secretary of the order for 44 years, continuing to the time of his death.

Funeral services for Mr. Christensen will be held Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. at the Bendorf Funeral Home. Burial will be made in Blair cemetery.

~~~ Obituary courtesy of the Nebraska Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~

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