Saturday, October 10, 2009

Fort Collins Soccer Club

Fort Collins Soccer Club
Pamela Chappelle Christensen, of Evergreen, Colo., passed away on October 4 from injuries related to a fall. She was the loving wife of David Christensen and devoted mother of Charles Wade Christensen, a second-year cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Pam was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on December 6, 1947 to Charles and Nettie Chappelle. She was raised in Fort Collins, where her father became a veterinarian after retiring from the Navy. After graduating from Poudre High School, she attended Colorado State University where she graduated with honors in mathematics and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. Pam joined the Peace Corps in 1969, learned Swahili and taught mathematics and coached volleyball and track at a girl's high school in Kenya.
Upon her return to the U.S., she spent two years recruiting for the Peace Corps. She then entered law school at the University of San Francisco, where she was a member of the Law Review, worked as a student extern for the California Supreme Court and graduated with honors in 1977.
She joined Pacific Gas & Electric in San Francisco where, for 13 years, she handled civil litigation.
In 1982, she married David Christensen, who was the love of her life. Their son, Charles, was born on March 26, 1990. In 1993, they - along with their two golden retrievers--spent 10 months exploring the country in an RV.
Pam returned home to Colorado in 1994 and the family settled in Evergreen. Over the next 15 years, she was a full-time mother and tireless community leader.
Pam's volunteer commitment was broad and included scouting and school activities. Pam was president of the Stingers Soccer Club, president of the King-Murphy PTA and coach of Clear Creek High School mock trial team. In 2003, she began her volunteer work for CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocate), an organization which represents abused and neglected juveniles.
She and her family traveled extensively in Europe, Alaska, the Caribbean, Africa and Central America.
Always fit and an avid outdoors-person, Pam bi-cycled across the country in 1976 as part of the Bike Centennial; she also ran the Boston Marathon. She was a lifelong passionate reader. She cared deeply for animals and was committed to the cause of animal welfare.
Pam was a remarkable woman who glowed with life, and the loss to her family and friends is immense.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to CASA or the World Wildlife Fund : The immediate family held a private gathering to honor Pam's memory. A public celebration of her life will be scheduled in the near future. The Christensens hosted foreign exchange students from Uzbekistan, Syria, the Czech Republic and Macedonia.

No comments:

Post a Comment