Deborah Ann Christenson

Deborah Ann Christenson lost her twenty-five month battle with cancer on the evening of June 29 at Vitas Hospice in Houston, Texas.

Debbie was born to Joy O'Neil Garrett and Charles Boswell on November 25, 1948 in Kansas City, Missouri. She grew up in Arkansas City and married Bruce L. Christenson of Winfield, Kansas. They resided for many years in Topeka, Kansas, where they raised two daughters. They have been married for forty-two years.

She loved to work with children. She taught school at Auburn and other elementary schools. She also volunteered at the Topeka Zoo, the Kansas Historical Museum, and the Audubon Society of Houston, among other organizations. She was very proud of her grandsons. She loved spending time with them and sharing with them the world of nature.

She enjoyed life's simple pleasures, such as being outside on a long walk or simply enjoying the birds and flowers in her backyard. A lifelong fitness enthusiast, she enjoyed racquetball, aerobics, and especially snowshoeing and hiking. In quieter moments she loved to read, and participated in several book clubs.

She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, sister, daughter, niece, and friend. She will be greatly missed.

She is survived by her husband, Bruce Christenson, and her daughters, Sandy Walker and husband, James, and Julie Christenson. Her grandsons, Jacob, Scott, Lucas, and Brendan Walker; her aunt, Norma Wilson; her sisters, Carole Hope and husband, Gary, Teri McGuigan, and Christie Shaw also survive her.

A Memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 6th at Penwell-Gabel Southwest Chapel, 3700 SW Wanamaker Road, Topeka. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Monday evening from 5-7 p.m. A private graveside service will follow at Highland Cemetery, Winfield, Kansas. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to MD Anderson's Making Cancer History Campaign.