Alan, Al, or Chris - he had many first names, was a country boy growing up in Cotati, California, amongst the chickens, pigs, cows, ducks, dogs and cats and everything else my grandparents grew on their chicken farm in the 30's. Dad was born in 1932 and went through the Great Depression with everyone else at that time including the Great War! He had a sister named Janet and grew up living the country life. His dad was Danish and mother Swedish, and had plenty of cousins and aunts and uncles who came to the "ranch" to celebrate most of the holidays. Dad had just told me before he passed that a twenty foot table was set up across two rooms to accommodate all the relatives for Thanksgiving. Dad continued that tradition by driving us kids (Robin, Bruce and Andy) and mom (Ann) to Cotati for as many holidays we could attend. Plenty of food and love and care. This was the Christiansen spirit. 

As Alan grew older his obvious talents in sports grew.  He just told me that his main love was baseball when I thought all these years it was football! If you throw in running track, which he did (his football coach asked him to add that in), one would say dad was a "jock"!

Dad told me he had issues with reading as a kid, which slowed him down but not enough to keep him from college. His Loghorn Football team accolades garnered him a scholarship to the newly opened business school in Menlo Park - Menlo College - where he eventually began to excel in business for a degree. He also was chosen to coach football, and he was able to earn some extra money coaching many a team.

Even though he only lived a mile or two from mom growing up, they were not introduced until after high school in the navy reserves when my mom's brother Gene told dad all about his sister Anna - pulling out a picture of mom in a bathing suit. That must of did it!!! Dad had lots of tales of gals he was after - but when was introduced to mom - he was smitten. Mom has a box full of dad's love letters to prove it, especially when was out at sea for navy reserve. One weekend a month for two years. Dad missed the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Lucky guy!

Mom and dad were young when they fell in love and got married - they were both around 23 and had me, their first born at 24 - ready to have four kids if mom could - leaving it at three kids - Bruce and Andrew to follow. In my memory we moved every years until we landed in Stockton. The word was that dad did not want us to move to Missouri.

He cut off ties to his Grain sales career and found settled in Stockton to begin buying and selling grain with various partners. Dad's been in Stockton ever since - over 50 years!

Dad was a grain buyer over 30-40 years - working for Pillsbury and Bungy - and various individuals who asked dad to move on with them until finally landing in Stockton - mid sixties - to stop moving around and working with a couple different partners until dad got a few trucks for himself and began working for himself. I had a few years in there working for him - so saw first hand that when grain season is full on dad was unable to do anything or go anywhere until the season ended. 

He worked hard and played hard, still being a great dad to us kids and mom - they sometimes reminded me of Richard Burton and Liz - bantering back and forth with one liners. We kids knew their love was real - they were together 61 years! Not bad!

Am sure everyone reading this knows a lot about Alan - that he was a skeet shooter, and a good one, had an archery period, and as a teenager, in Cotati, a taxidermist. It goes on and on with Al. Oh yes - after he had hip surgery in his sixties, and had healed, he made a hole in one at the local golf course. That's dad!!

So, am going to post all the fun sports shots of dad as a football player, runner, and all the rest. He loved to watch almost any sport over the years to stay current with his athletic passions. Have been home when it was women's golf. No problem, we watched!!!

This is all will write for now - but will add more details to keep his memory alive - even if it's digital!

Please feel free to add any and all pics or stories that you remember. As a lot of friends and family are gone now dad asked to just have this on-line memorial. 

Also, he received his cancer diagnosis June 12th of this year and immediately asked if he would not linger. He didn't. That he didn't have pain. He didn't. He perhaps sped it up by having a small stroke in late August which put him in a hospital bed in his living room to watch his last game played by the 49rs (pre game!) - which he did. 

He lapsed into a coma after that - and hospice was at the house immediately to monitor him and keep him comfortable. 

My brother and I were in the next room remenicing about things after I checked him around 9:30pm - then at 10:00pm saw that he had taken his last breath. Even those last two days he was still the athlete, the body breathing strongly toward his maker. Dad wanted what he wanted - to go fast - no fuss and no muss - and he did! I love my dad, as all of us in the family do. No one like him. 

A very special man.

See you on the other side dad! 

Robin Ann Christiansen