by Cliff Buchan
News Editor
Forest Lake Times

It's been more than a decade since Bob Fedderly and Kevin Rivard last saw Jeff Christensen, an athlete both coached at Forest Lake High School in the early 1990s.

But the separation of time had not dimmed the impact Christensen had on the two.

The former Forest Lake athlete was remembered this week as one of the best of the best.

Christensen, the 1992 Forest Lake High School graduate and Colorado park ranger, was found dead Saturday in Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes Park after being missing for eight days.

Park officials said Monday Christensen died from head injuries in a fall that likely happened within several hours of leaving the trailhead for his solo patrol on July 29.

"As a coach, he (Christensen) was everything you wanted in an athlete and a student," said Fedderly, a long-time cross country coach at the high school.

Fedderly coached Christensen for three years in high school and as a senior in 1991, Christensen helped send the Rangers to the state cross country team meet, the first time the school had achieved that honor.

At the state meet ? hosted in Alexandria as a result of the Halloween blizzard ? Christensen was Forest Lake's fastest runner and placed 44th overall as an individual.

Hard working and fun loving

"He was one of the great ones in that group," Fedderly recalled. "Jeff is a great kid." Fedderly remembered the former prep runner as a hard-working, fun-loving and intelligent student who made coaching enjoyable.

It was much the same in the mind of Rivard, a former downhill ski coach at the high school.

"He (Christensen) was just a nice kid," Rivard recalled. He said Christensen was a reliable athlete who was always on time and did whatever was asked of him.

That Christensen wound up in the West doing something he loves came as no surprise to Rivard.

"He had an appreciation for what the world had to offer," Rivard said. "That he was a park ranger was no surprise. That he was in the mountains was no surprise."

Search ends

The search for Christensen, 31, came to a sad end Saturday afternoon when a group of hikers found his body in a remote and rugged area of the park. He was last seen on July 29 after leaving a trailhead for a routine backcountry patrol in the Mummy Range of the national park.

Christensen was in his fourth season as a park ranger and also spent a number of years in the mountains as a ski patrol. He lived in Fraser, CO.

Rescue teams swelled to as many as 200 volunteers and were aided by dog teams and helicopters during the eight-day search for Christensen.

His parents, Dale and Chris Christensen of Forest Lake, have been in the park since Aug. 2.

They released a brief statement through park officials thanking park staff, the incident management team, search volunteers, Estes Park and the hikers who found Jeff.

"We would like to express our deepest thanks and gratitude to all of those who have helped us during this trying time," the couple said.

After high school, Christensen earned a degree at the University of Minnesota Duluth and later moved to Colorado.

Funeral details

The family has announced that a funeral service for Jeff Christensen will be at 10 a.m., Friday, Aug. 12 at St. Paul's Catholic Church, 1740 Bunker Lake Blvd. NE (CR-116), Ham Lake.

Interment will be open to the public at Union Cemetery, St. Paul.

Local arrangements are being handled by Mattson Funeral Home and Cremation Service. Visit www.mattsonfuneralhome.com to leave a memorial and sign a guest book.

The church is located on CR-116 one-quarter of a mile east of TH-65. CR-116 is north of the TH-65 and Main Street (CR-14) intersection. For more information or directions, call the church at 763-757-6910.

A public memorial service is planned for 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at Hyde Chapel at YMCA of the Rockes in Estes Park.

Memorials may be directed to the Jeff Christensen Family Fund, The Bank of Colorado, PO Box 2560, 533 Big Thompson Ave., Estes Park, CO 80517. Memorials to the family fund may also be left at the church in Ham Lake. For more information, call 970-586-8185.

In addition to his parents, he is survived by brothers Jason Christensen and Brian (Jenny) Christensen.

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