It is with deep sorrow to announce the passing of our beloved Sandra L. Christensen (83) of Mauston, WI on Sunday, September 28th, 2025.

Sandra was born on Wednesday, July 8th, 1942 in Waukegan, IL, middle child of Ralph A. and Beatrice T. (Albertsen) Femer. If you knew her, she was Sandi.

In her early years she lived in Antioch, IL, Kenosha, WI, St. Louis, Mo., and finally landing in Wonder Lake, IL in 1962 where she bought her first house and spent 60 years there. In 2021, life changed for her and she later moved to Mauston to live with her granddaughter and family. Sandi married Drewe L. Christensen on September 5th, 1959, later divorcing. They had three children together; Wendy(04/60), Patti(04/61), and Drewe "Buddy" (03/62)!

She held many jobs over the years from an IL State Investigator, waitress, grocery store deli clerk (where she worked with her best friend, Karen), magazine sales, and even owning her own very successful roofing business. She retired in the early 2000's but she picked up a new "hobby" to keep her busy. She joined the P.G.R. (Patriot Guard Riders) & W.W.R (Warriors Watch Riders) with her daughter, Patti, and helped assist in many "welcome homes" for our soldiers after 9/11 and many "farewells" (funerals) when they were called home. Our service men and women meant the world to her and she was a very proud Patriot to be apart of those amazing organizations. When she wasn't involved with PGR or WWR you'd find her in the garden or on the patio, watching a Packer game, or chatting online in her Norwegian chat room, always making new friends. (Special online friends were Iris, Paul, Knut, Valerie and others).

I think her biggest joy in life was when she became a grandma in 1983 and later a great-grandma in 2004. Her three granddaughters all became her "gooses" and later on her two great-granddaughters were too. We all have countless memories at Gram's house, but I know some of the best ones were spent in the pool! I think most of us grandkids learned to swim in there! It's safe to say, there just isn't anything else like "Gramma's house".

Sandi wasn't much of a traveler, she always said she did plenty of that in her younger years. But in the late 80's/early 90's she started to deep dive into her genealogy and that led her to Michigan, Washington State and finally Norway for "family reunions". She spent countless hours on the family's genealogy book, finding she was Scandinavian, primarily Norwegian. Her dream was to visit the "home country" someday and that dream became a reality in July 1997. She found two dear cousins during her genealogy hunt that lived in Norway and instead of being distant cousins they became close family. Arve and Marit always had a very special place in her heart and they visited many times over the years (them coming to the States every couple of years). Sadly, they both passed in 2024.

Sandi was a friend to many, but a very special friendship held a bond of more than 50 years with Danny and Karen, they truly became family. Thank you for all of your love and support to our Sandi, you two meant the world to her and to us!

There are so many stories that could be shared about Sandi, things she did, people she loved…but there just aren't enough pages in a book to write it all. To say we're heartbroken just doesn't quite cut it and she will be missed more than words can explain. We love you to the moon and back, Gram.

Sandi is survived by her daughter Wendy (Rick) Kocik of Shelbina, MO; 3 Granddaughters (Goose #1) Kristen (Jarrod) Denton of Mauston, WI, (Goose #2) Stephanie Christensen (Rich Cantrell) of Kenosha, WI and (Goose #3) Shanese Everett (JC) of Saint Marys, WV; 6 Great-Grandchildren: Zack, (Goose #4) Mia, (Goose #5) Kayte, Drewe, Andrewe, and Joshua. Along with her sister Linda Vidovich of Wonder Lake, IL. She is further survived by nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. Sandi is preceded in death by all of her grandparents, both of her parents, her sister Marianne Hall (June 2025), her son Drewe M. Christensen (September 2015) and her daughter Patti A Christensen (August 2021).

There will be a Memorial for Sandi on Saturday, October 11th, 2025 at her granddaughter Kristen's house in Mauston, from Noon-4:00 P.M. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the family.