Arden Christopherson

Arden Christopherson

January 4, 1929 - March 3, 2025

"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms."

~Peter 4:10

Arden Christopherson passed away peacefully at home on March 3, 2025, in Punta Gorda, Florida. He was 96 years young.

Arden ("Chris") was born in Isle (Mille Lacs County) Minnesota, to the late Helen Johansen Christopherson and Clifford Christopherson. As a child, Chris loved helping his Uncle Henry and Aunt Pearl on their nearby farm. Even after his folks moved him and his four brothers to Minneapolis, Chris would return every summer to the farm, helping with the animals, the vegetable garden and the pitching of hay. His summers on the farm remained a lifelong treasured time and memory for him.

As a teen in Minneapolis, Chris ice skated on the Minnesota ponds, snow and water skied, played sports and boxed in the Junior Golden Gloves Championships. He developed his love of music as an accordion player and became an avid fan of big band music including the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Duke Ellington, Doris Day and Rosemary Clooney. His love of the big band sound led him to his future wife, Thelma Hopkins Christopherson, who could swing dance with the best of them.

A Staff Sergeant in The United States Air Force, Chris proudly served for six years before becoming a civil servant at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. A radar tracking specialist, he was at the front end in the development of using lasers to track aircraft. He retired after 37 total years of service to his country.

Chris shared life and love with Thelma in Fairborn, Ohio, where they raised eight children together. On many Saturday nights he played the music he loved on the accordion,

with Thelma and the kids laughing and dancing together. He liked to sketch and draw and worked on the New York Times crossword puzzle every day. He was an avid player of board games and especially card games, which he taught to all eight kids. Chris was highly competitive by nature, so sitting around the kitchen table playing cards with the kids, he showed no mercy: it was every man, woman, and child for themselves!

Chris's life was spent in service to his family, his community, his church and to his country. His community service included but was not limited to serving as a Babe Ruth baseball coach and as a coach for Flag Football, both becoming championship teams. He was President of the Park Layne Civic Club and an active member of the Seratoma Club. He taught Sunday school and served in many roles over the decades within his church.

Arden was preceded in death by his beloved wife Thelma Hopkins Christopherson after 64 years of marriage, his mother Helen Johansen Christopherson, his father Clifford Christopherson, and his brother Jerry Christopherson. Also preceding him to their heavenly home are sons Richard Perry Christopherson and Ricky Darrell Christopherson, and his precious great-grandson Austin Christopherson.

Arden is remembered by his surviving brothers Clifford Christopherson Jr., Robert Christopherson, and Roy Christopherson and his children Barbara Joye, Darla Osborne (Jeff), Bess Back (Kevin), Arden Bruce Christopherson (Shelley), Mark Christopherson, and Jon Christopherson (Shelly). Also celebrating their grandpa's enduring nature, generous heart and ever present willingness to lend a helpful hand are his 31 grandchildren and 48 great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you hug someone you love, take a walk with a friend, read a book, play catch with a child, or play a crazy fierce game of cards with your family... Indulge in a root beer float or a piece of apple pie ala' mode (Chris' favorites)... or send a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org or a tribute donation to "It Can Be Done" at ItCanBeDoneAfrica.org or to a charity of your choice. 

A funeral service will be held at 12:30 P.M., Saturday, March 8, 2025, at the Belton-Stroup Funeral Home, 422 E. Dayton-Yellow Springs Rd., Fairborn, OH 45324. The family will receive friends from 11:30 A.M., until the time of service, Pastor Rick Compton officiating. Burial to follow at Byron Cemetery, Fairborn, OH.