Marjorie Lee Christianson

Marjorie was born on October 8, 1927, to parents Mark and Laura Synott. She had three younger sisters: Patricia Sullivan, Mary Goodin and Kathleen Bush.

They lived on a small farm nine miles north of Wausau, Wisconsin. She walked over a mile to a one-room schoolhouse with one teacher teaching all eight grades. When she was in second grade, her teacher Miss Mary Ryan, often spoke to them about God. On Ash Wednesday she explained that the next forty days would be a time to prepare for Easter. She suggested they make a little sacrifice, like giving up candy. This was a Lenten practice Marjorie kept the rest of her life. Although this was a public school, none of the parents objected to Miss Ryan's teaching and she was well-respected by all.

Getting back and forth to high school was a struggle. In her sophomore year her parents sold the farm and moved to Wausau.

In her senior year, their typing teacher had her classes take a Civil Service test. The tests were sent to Washington, D.C. for evaluation. After receiving different job applications from various government departments, she decided to accept the one from the FBI, which offered housing and a good salary. As she was preparing to move, her parents decided that because she was sixteen, she was too young to move.

She took a job at the Home Office of Employers Mutual Insurance Company in Wausau. The following year, the war ended, and she was rewarded for obeying her parents. Sheldon Christianson, a tall, dark, and handsome Marine who had enlisted the day after Pearl Harbor and served three and one half years in the south Pacific, took a job with the company where she worked. They were introduced by a mutual friend at the company Christmas party and were married July 19, 1947.

In 1950 their son Daniel was born. He lives in Florida and his daughter, Nicole and husband Chris, Marjorie's only grandchild, live in Maple Grove. In 1956 Sheldon was transferred to Eau Claire, Wi where son James was born that same year. James lives in Eagan, MN.

In 1961, Sheldon moved to a new job and the family moved to South Minneapolis. Dan and Jim attended Visitation School. Marjorie did volunteer work in the school office, helped in the classrooms, and was a chauffeur for the nuns.

After the boys were gone, she took a job with the Minneapolis Board of Education as a secretary. She worked there for eleven years, including two years after her husband died. She then retired, sold their home, and moved to an apartment in St. Louis Park.

Mass of Christian Burial 10:30 AM Thursday, May 21, 2026, at the Church of the Holy Family, 5900 W. Lake St., St. Louis Park. Visitation one hour prior to Mass at church. Interment at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minneapolis.