Gaynel E. Christensen, 91 of Watertown, formerly Tomahawk, passed away on July 10, 2024, at home.
Gaynel was born Feb. 12, 1933, the daughter of Alvin and Helen (Peters) Geisness. Gaynel worked at Briggs and Straton, Big Boys, Hartland Plastics, Arn and Dales, Johnson Tool as well as working in health care. As a child, she dragged saplings out of the woods in Lugerville, Wis., for a nursery. She was paid a penny a tree. She later trapped and sold furs as a grade schooler. She attended Phillips High School, where she broke as many hearts as possible before she graduated in 1951.
Gaynel was a member of Grace Lutheran, (Tomahawk) was a member of the Guild Hall. Her hobbies were walking, cross country skiing, ice skating, berry picking, crocheting and a good hand of cards. She taught her children to love the outdoors. Gaynel was a berry picker and instilled a love of foraging in her daughters. She would climb over downed trees and leap over irrigation ditches to find blueberries that hung like grapes. People knew her as a soft spoken and a kind woman. Her family knew her as scrappy and a sandbagger of cards.
Gaynel is survived by: daughters Kelly Peterson, Sherry Fraser, Judy (James Kolpin) Christensen; grandchildren Dustin Reiter, Zachary Fraser, and Savannah Fraser; great-grandchildren Pheonix and Dylan; great-great-granddaughter Evangeline; and siblings Pat Jensen and June (Dwayne) Pohl. Gaynel is also survived by a number of other relatives and friends.
Gaynel is preceded in death by: her husband Bill; son-in-law Todd; two brothers; and two sisters.
A private family gathering will be held at a later date.
The family would like to extend a sincere thank you to Compassus Hospice and Rainbow Hospice for the loving care provided to Gaynel. The Pederson-Nowatka Funeral Home is caring for the family. To place an online condolence, please visit www.pn-fh.com.
