Iness Lorene Christensen Obituary (1936

Iness "Lorene" Christensen, 82, a resident of the Forest Grove community passed away on February 9, 2019 at the Providence St Vincent Medical Center in Portland. Lorene was born on March 12, 1936 in Wenatchee, WA. She was the youngest of four children born to Knox and Myrtle (Avey) Abbott. She was raised on a small family farm in the Spokane Valley. She attended Central Valley High School graduating with the Class of 1954. She met her future husband, Gary Christensen, while in high school. They married after graduation on June 13, 1954 in Opportunity, WA. They both attended Washington State University where they had their first son; Gates and where she graduated as an English Major in 1957. Upon graduation Gary was commissioned as an Air Force Officer and they followed Gary's 21 year career in the Air Force living in nine different States and in Canada. They had five children; Gates, Reed, Elaine, Jill and Brett. They moved to Forest Grove in 2011 to be closer to family. Lorene received her Master's Degree at Eastern Washington University and when the children were older she began teaching reading skills to adults and later taught reading in public middle schools in Spokane. She was especially proud of her work in English - as - a Second Language Program where she taught children from many different countries to learn to read English at a grade level within a school year. She was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and did volunteer service in every place she lived. She especially enjoyed working with the youth and did everything from directing plays to providing a Sunday dinner to many airman far away from home. Lorene and Gary served a mission for the Church to inner city Philadelphia from 1995 to 1997. For many years Lorene served on the Board and cooked many meals for the "Women and Children's Free Restaurant" in Spokane. One reason she worked there was to honor her father, Knox Abbott, who helped start the first food bank in Spokane Valley. In 1983 Gary and Lorene sponsored a young man, Minh Pham, who fled Vietnam when the country fell to Communism. He spent his high school years in their home and remains close to the family. A huge part of her life was her family and for many years she and Gary would host the family reunions on their property overlooking the Spokane Valley. These reunions would include a big family dinner with a properly set table with Desert Rose China. She was a very active in her grandchildren and great grandchildren's lives by making pajamas, quilts, pillows and teddy bears. She also stayed in touch by sending birthday cards to every member of her family – her last calendar had 81 names written in. She is preceded in death by her parents, her son, Gates and two siblings; Lyle Abbott and Paula Olson. She is survived by her loving husband; Gary, of the family home, four children and their spouses; Debbie Christensen of the Spokane Valley, Reed and Myra Christensen of Hillsboro, Oregon, Kent and Elaine Carson of Stafford, Virginia, Jill Christensen and Jennifer Goodfellow of Framingham Massachusetts, Brett and Jill Christensen of Farmington Utah, a sister; Norma Trefy of the Spokane Valley, eighteen grandchildren and thirty four great grandchildren, Minh and Crystal Pham of Kennewick Washington, and many nieces and nephews.