Christian William Newman, 42, of Soldotna, AK, passed away unexpectedly on January 27, 2024.

A Memorial Gathering will be held on Saturday, March 9,2024 at the Picha Funeral Home in Lake Delton, WI, from 1:00  p.m. until 5:00 p.m. A Memorial Service for Christian will be starting at 3:00 p.m. with Pastor Matt Gehrke presiding. Once service is complete the Memorial Gathering will continue until 5:00 p.m.

Christian was born on June 23, 1981, in Madison, WI. He was the son of John and Brenda (Oosterhof) Newman. He was the eldest of three children. Christian resided in Portage, WI until 1996 when he moved to Wisconsin Dells. He attended and graduated from Wisconsin Dells High School, class of 1999. In those years he enjoyed playing sports, working at various establishments, playing his guitar, helping others, spending time at family gatherings, socializing with friends, and getting into a little bit of mischief. Upon graduating high school, his path took him to Alaska.

Shortly after coming to Alaska, Christian became a proud brother of the IBEW. He worked his way up through the ranks and became a journeyman inside wireman. He loved taking apprentices under his wing and teaching them all he knew about the trade. Christian struggled with addiction for many of his first few years in Alaska, but he came out of Wildwood and Alpha House with a new love for the Lord and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It was this light that shined through him that we will remember the most. Christian's compassion for the addicts still suffering brought him to many meetings which made him a pillar in our local recovering community. It was through this community and a mutual love for the Green Bay Packers that brought him to the woman of his dreams, Tammi and her three children, Gage, Ella and Zeke, and their boxer Lambo. Christian enjoyed being a part of a huge family and never missed an opportunity to spend time with them. He quickly became the new "favorite uncle" and loved every minute of that. Christian and Tammi got engaged in July 2023 with plans to be wed in June 2024. He was a power source of joy, love and security for Tammi and her kids and a beacon of light to everyone he encountered. There was no such thing as an acquaintance to Christian, if he met you, you were his friend. He was a lifelong Packer Backer and his last words to many of us were "GO PACK GO." He is now with his Lord and Savior.

Christian is survived by his mother, Brenda Newman (John Ewing); his father, John Newman (Joanne Denman); his fiancé, Tammi Merkes; his two sisters, Adrianne Newman and Jenna Newman; his niece, Finlee Lamers; uncles, Bryan (Debbie) Oosterhof and Dallas (Rita) Oosterhoff; aunts, Dianna (Terry) Soria and Shelly Oosterhof; cousins, Stevie (Emma) Krueger, Chad (Jenny) Oeftger, Matthew (Amy) Oeftger, Justin (Katie) Oeftger and Tiffany (Darrin) Schutte, as well as many other family members and friends. He is preceded in death by maternal grandparents, Harry and Lois Oosterhof; paternal grandparents, William and Dolores Newman;aunts, LeeAndra Krueger and Donna Oeftger; uncles, Rodney Oosterhof and Wayne Oeftger and his cousins, Lindsey Krueger and Brittney Krueger.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to a GoFundMe page that has been set up to help the family with his final expenses. Any funds that go unspent will be donated to the Alpha House sober men's living home in Kenai, AK in Christian's honor. The GoFundMe page can be found here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/christian-newman