William E. Christesen

Master Chief William E. "Bill" Christesen, 81 years old from Overland Park, passed away on Oct. 10, 2017. Visitation and funeral will be held on Tues., Oct. 17th, at McGilley & Hoge Chapel. Friends may call on the family at 12 pm with services at 1 pm, burial to follow at Forest Hill Calvary Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Salvation Army - Johnson County Family Lodge, 420 E. Santa Fe, Olathe, KS or the charity of your choice.

Bill was born Sept. 7, 1936, in Lyndon, KS to Bill and Clara (Elliott) Christesen. He grew up in Osage City, where he played high school football and sang in the choir. He received a scholarship to play football at Emporia State. He left college early to join the U.S. Navy in 1960. Bill retired after serving 20 years in the Navy. He trained in San Diego as a submarine nuclear power technician and served on 4 boats - USS Remora, USS James Monroe, USS Batfish and the USS James K. Polk. He taught at the Nuclear Power Training Command in Idaho Falls, Idaho and was a Navy Seal.

After the Navy, he worked for ServiceMaster at St. Luke's Hospital during which time he met and later married Pat Nicholson on Nov. 30, 1986. Bill and Pat moved to Shreveport, LA and soon moved to the New Orleans area where Bill was Plant Operations Manager at Charity Hospital. Upon retiring from ServiceMaster, Bill and Pat moved back to Overland Park. Bill was very active in the Elks Lodge #2395, the American Legion Post 370, and the 40/8 club, where he held the title of Grand Chef de Gare du Kansas.

Devoted husband and grandfather, Bill is survived by his wife of 30 years, Pat Christesen; his son, Bruce (Tammy) Christesen; his stepchildren, Bill (Chris) Nicholson, Bob (Kaylene) Nicholson, Kathy (Lee) Nicholson-Bonn, and Tricia (Brian) Cook; his grandchildren, MaryAnn, Will, Katie, Patrick, Shelby, Isabelle, Gwyneth and Gillian; and great-granddaughter, Sophia.