Lloyd F. Christensen, MD

January 21, 1920 – September 18, 2016

Our father, Lloyd Christensen, died Sunday at the age of 96. He was born in Selma, California, to O.E. (Chris) Christensen and Agnes (Fridell) Christensen on January 21, 1920. He spent the first two years of his life in Berkeley while his father attended pharmacy school before moving to Hanford. Poppy Chris purchased an interest in a local pharmacy and Agnes entered the teaching profession. His was a close family, centered in the Reedley/Selma area and many weekends were spent with cousins in Selma.

He attended local schools where he got off to an exceptional start by skipping first grade since his mother had already taught him to read. He knew at an early age that he wanted to be a doctor and made a conscious decision to get good grades so that by the time college came around, he would be ready. He always had some activity or project going, whether it was clarinet practice, building a collapsible boat or setting up a telegraph line across Redington Street to the home of his best friend, Charles Furby, so that they could practice morse code! In high school he played in the school band and had his own jazz band that performed at school dances.

He was the consummate student. He dedicated his life to science and rational thought and he talked often of his experiences at the University of California, Berkeley, and the individuals he met there. He studied hard so he could attend medical school, but still found time to play with the University marching band and their symphony. If science was his intellectual guide, music was his soul and touched him in a way that was magical.

He graduated from U.C. Berkeley in 1941 and began his studies at the University of Southern California Medical School that fall. When World War II began, he was rushed through his medical schooling in three years and, upon the graduation of his class in 1944, they were promptly all drafted and began their Army careers. He married Cloe Jean Collier shortly after graduation in August of 1944, and they were lifelong companions until her death in 2007. They fit together so well. Dad was stationed in post-war France and then Frankfurt, Germany, where his Army career ended in 1947.

He opened his practice in Hanford immediately and spent the next fifty years attending to the medical needs of his hometown. In addition to his medical practice he found time to participate in local civic duties such as president of the elementary school board for several years, serve on library committees, and help establish the Kings Art Center where he is a board member emeritus. He was also on the board of Trustees for the University of Redlands for 25 years. He was an avid painter, enjoyed gardening in his later life and was an enthusiastic backpacker. When I watched him take those long strides across a glacially scrubbed piece of open granite, I always thought he was in his true element.

He is survived by his daughter, Jo Ann Christensen and her husband, Robert Parrott, his son, Lloyd (Chris) Christensen, Jr and his wife Donna, three much loved grandchildren, Eric Christensen and his wife, Jami Hammond-Christensen, Caitlin Christensen, and Hannah Christensen. He also leaves two great-grandchildren, Lauryn, age five, and Weston, age two.

Lloyd’s was a well lived, full life and he was a student to the end. He will be missed.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Kings Art Center; 605 N. Douty Street, Hanford, CA 93230 or the Episcopal Soup Kitchen; 519 N. Douty Street, Hanford, CA 93230.

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, October 1, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. at Episcopal Church of the Saviour; 519 N. Douty Street, Hanford, CA 93230. He will be buried privately.