Ileene Christensen

Ileene Christensen of Charles City, formerly of Hampton, passed away Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019, at 9th St. Chautauqua Guest Home in Charles City.

A funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 31, at Trinity Lutheran Church, 16 12th Ave. NE, Hampton, IA, with Pastor Karl Bollhagen officiating. Burial will be at Trinity Lutheran Cemetery near Beed’s Lake in rural Hampton. Visitation will be held at the church from 9 a.m. until the beginning of the service. The Sietsema Vogel Funeral Home of Hampton is assisting Ileene’s family.

Ileene Cary Lena Greier was born at rural Latimer on Nov. 12, 1919, daughter of William and Frieda (Muhlenbruch) Greier. She attended country school through 8th grade. As a young teenager she began working full time for families in the roles of babysitter/housekeeper/cook. At age 19 she applied for and was hired as an aid at the Lutheran Hospital in Hampton. During this time of her life, Ileene met her future husband, Leo J. Christensen. They dated for 3 years until Leo was drafted and was stationed in Paso Robles, CA. He asked Ileene to marry him and she said, “Yes.” Leo sent her money to come to CA and they were married Dec. 5, 1941.

Leo and Ileene returned to live in the Hampton area in January 1943. Ileene was always a hard worker. She was a wonderful homemaker for her family. In 1950, Leo and Ileene purchased a hatchery north of Hampton where they put in many years of hard work. After selling the hatchery in 1966, they moved to Hampton. Ileene worked at a children’s clothing store for a few years, and then Koerner drug store for 12 years before retiring. However, she came out of retirement soon after and worked for Beringer Monument for seven years. Ileene always wanted to get her high school diploma so in 1994, she decided to go back to school. She took night classes for three years and received her GED at the age of 78!

Ileene was a faithful member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hampton and later attended New Hope Lutheran in Charles City. She and Leo had many friends and they enjoyed hosting picnics and get togethers at their home. In 2001, Ileene moved to Charles City to be closer to her family. In later years, Ileene’s pastimes were reading, crocheting, watching classic movies, and keeping up on politics by watching Fox News. She loved writing letters and her family and friends loved receiving them. Her love for her family never wavered.

Living family members include her son and daughter-in-law Michael (Mick) and Rhonda Christensen of Charles City; grandsons Kelly (Stacey) Christensen of Cedar Falls and Matthew (Nicole) Christensen of Surprise, AZ; granddaughters TuAnn Christensen of Brandon, FL and Kate (Joe) Low of Charles City; 10 great grandchildren and one great great grandchild; one sister-in-law and many nieces and nephews; special friends Don and Beth Fink.

Ileene was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Leo in 1990, son Patrick in 1999, one grandson, three sisters, and two brothers.