September 9, 2015
Christensen, the Rev William E.
Reverend William Eliot Christensen, former pastor of the United Church of Norwood for 20 years until his retirement in 2011, went to be with his Lord on Sunday, September 6, 2015 in Norwood. He was 80. Bill was born November 15, 1934 in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of William Theodore and Doris Violet (Nauss) Christensen. He graduated from Christian High School in Cambridge and earned his Bachelors Degree from Houghton College in Houghton, New York and his Master’s Degree in Divinity from Gordon-Conwell in Wenham, Massachusetts. Bill was first ordained as a minister of the gospel of Jesus in 1959 at King’s Highway Baptist Church in Bridgeport, Connecticut where he served until 1967. He then served Bethel Baptist Church in Getzville, New York before moving to the pastorate of the Westwood Evangelical Free Church in Westwood, Massachusetts where he spent six years until assuming the pulpit of the United Church of Norwood. He was an active member of the Norwood Clergy Association as well as a member and past president of the Norwood Rotary Club. Bill is survived by his wife, Joy (Milligan) Christensen; his son, David W. Christensen, and his wife Phoebe, of Attleboro; his two daughters, Susan J. Crowe, and her husband Paul D., of Evington, Virginia, and Amy B. Christensen of Norwood; his twin brother Theodore A. Christensen, and his wife Sandy, of Granby, Connecticut; his brother-in-law Jay Milligan of Lakeview, New York; and the wife of his late brother Robert, Barbara Mix, of Lexington; and his beloved grandchildren, DJ, Daniel, Drew, Tim, Laura, and Julie. Visiting hours will be held Saturday, September 12th from noon until 3 pm at the Folsom Funeral Home, 649 High Street, Westwood immediately followed by burial in Highland Cemetery in Norwood. Relatives and friends are invited to attend Bill’s memorial service Sunday, September 13th at 2 pm at the United Church of Norwood. In lieu of flowers donations to the United Church of Norwood, 595 Washington Street, Norwood, MA 02062 would be appreciated.
Comments(5)
Joy, Amy,Sue and family
Our heartfelt condolences go out to your family at this time. Bill will be loved and missed by all. We adored him as a person and will miss him so much.He always told funny jokes and always managed to brighten our day and to make us laugh. He was a wonderful person with a great personality and will be missed by all. He is with our eternal father now and we will see him on that eternal day.
With love and adoration
Leo and Sandy Souza
We are thankful for the times we spent with Bill & Joy, even though they were few. By the Grace of God, the 4 of us shared the blessings of our combined 7 grandchildren, thanks to Sue and Paul!
You are all in our prayers, with much love.
Joan & Harv Crowe.
To joy and family
My heart goes out to you. I’m so glad I got to meet and spend time with pastor bill after all these years i got to known him. I’m glad that he did my boys baptism. I always loved giving him a kiss on the cheek every time i saw him if it was at church or at his house. Rip pastor bill you will be missed and loved by all
Our deepest condolences! Rev. Christensen was a kind person and we hope warm memories are comforting your family.
Gentlest, nicest, best clergyman I’ve ever known. Best singing voice, too. It was our good fortune to find him, Joy, and the UMC when we were seeking a church. Pastor Bill married us, and his and Joy’s blessing remains framed on our bedroom wall all these years later in Marietta, Ga. He baptized our 2 daughters, too. Was never a question why he had ‘Christ’ in his name.
Pastor Bill and Joy (I affectionately called them PB&J 🙂 – you will always be remembered fondly by our family and the many, many others you’ve touched, as well.