“Franklin” Christensen spent his early years growing up tall and strong on a farm in Nebraska.  With a straw hat on his head young Franklin worked the fields and tended to the animals on his father’s farm.  He rode a  horse to school, played sports and learned many of life’s most important lessons from his dad.

As he grew into his teen years, now known to most of his friends as “Chris”, he was more often seen in a football helmet or baseball cap.  It was during these early days that the farm boy met a town girl named Gloria.

While at the University of Nebraska word came of the beginning of the second world war. Chris signed up for the Army.  He was soon selected  for the Army Air Corp and began flight training as a pilot of the B-24 bomber known as “The Liberator”.   He earned his wings in 1944 and shipped out to his assigned airfield in Italy.  Just before he left for Europe, he married the town girl that had stolen his heart.  He and Gloria wrote to each other nearly every day that they were apart.  They have kept all of these letters in a box to this day.

From that airfield  in Italy “Lieutenant Christensen”,  now wearing a bomber pilot’s helmet, flew nearly 30  missions over Austria and Germany.   Lt. Christensen brought his crew back from every mission – sometimes with a severely damaged plane – but he got them back.  He returned to Nebraska and to Gloria in 1946.

He and Gloria were soon off to Iowa where “Mr. Christensen” now wore a fedora to work as he embarked on a long and successful career as a jr. high school teacher and school administrator.   His career eventually brought him to Maryland where he finally settled in, eventually retired, found Cedarbrook Church and became fondly known as “Grandpa Chris” to the young folks and “Mr. Chris” to the rest of us.  These days a Chicago Cubbies Cap often sits on his head.  At Cedarbrook Church he is the first face many see at the church door every Sunday.  He is an honorary Grandpa to hundreds of children and young folks and a faithful and proactive friend to all of his beloved Cedarbrook family.   He is a man who knows how to love well and is well loved by all.  He is a man of faith, humility, kindness, sincerity and the kind of Godly example that has made many men muse, “When I grow up I want to be Grandpa Chris”.

Franklin Christensen – a loving husband for over 65 years, an honorary grandpa, a great friend, an example, and a hero to all.  It is with great respect and love that we, his friends, present “Franklin, Chris, Lt. Christensen, Mr. Christensen, Grampa Chris, Mr. Chris” as a man well deserving of this nomination to The Wall of Honor.

The Men of Cedarbrook Community Church
Clarksburg, Maryland
November 7, 2009