JOHN M. CHRISTIANSON

John M. Christianson, 63 of New Rockford, ND formerly of Devils Lake, ND passed away on Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at the Lutheran Home of the Good Shepherd, New Rockford. Funeral Services for John will be held on Friday, June 28, 2013 at 1:00 p.m. at the Gilbertson Funeral Home, Devils Lake, ND with Fr. Charles Leute, OP officiating. Visitation will be held at the Gilbertson Funeral Home on Thursday from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. And visitation on Friday will be from 12:00 noon until time of service. John Melvin, son of Melvin and Jean (Bohlig) Christianson was born on July 16, 1949 in Grand Forks, ND. He grew up in the Lake Region areas of Minnewaukan and Devils Lake. He graduated from Devils Lake Central High School with the class of 1967. He continued his education at Lake Region Junior College. John entered the United States Army on July 13th, 1970 at Devils Lake and served his country during the Vietnam War. He was honorably discharged on July 12th, 1972 at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama with the rank of Specialist 4. While in the service, John married Renae Bercier and they were the proud parents of a son, Chad. After his discharge, John returned to Devils Lake and worked in general construction and concrete work in the Devils Lake area. John was united in marriage to Melody Anderson in October of 1988 in Devils Lake. They welcome three beautiful children to the family, Katelynn, Kendal and Abreanna. John worked for several years at Fredrick’s Bait and also continued working in construction and as a carpenter until he suffered a debilitating stroke in 2008. John has been lovingly cared for by his family and the staff of the Lutheran Home of the Good Shepherd for the past several years. John was an avid outdoorsman. He enjoyed hunting and fishing. He treasured every moment of time spent with family and friends. Those so blessed to have shared in John’s life include his wife, Melody of St. Michael, ND; children, Chad (Allison) Christianson of Glenwood, MN, Katelynn Christianson, Kendal Christianson and Abreanna Christianson all of St. Michael; six grandchildren, Halle and Ryan; Pyper and Harper; Matthew and Grayson; brothers and sisters, Paul Christianson of Devils Lake, Neil (Leann) Christianson of Billings, MT, Ann Mahoney of Bismarck, ND, Mary (Doug) Berg of Devils Lake and Gail (Bill) Halgren also of Devils Lake; several aunts, numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and dear in-laws also survive. John was preceded in death by his parents and mother-in-law, Deloris Anderson. Serving as Casket Bearers for John will be George Fredrick, Kojack Thompson, Tom Wallace, John Mahoney, Ben Vilandre and Chaun Foughty. Reading the Scriptures will be Mary Berg and Ann Mahoney.