Julie Ann Christenson

CHRISTENSON, Julie Ann (Govett) – “To love, and to be loved – is to feel the sun from both sides.” It is with broken hearts that we announce the passing of Julie at ARCH on Friday, February 12, 2016 at the age of 57. Dear wife of Dan, cherished mother of Erik (Jen), Lora Porco (Mark) and David (Natalie) and grandmother of Connor Porco. Beloved daughter of (the late Elsie) and Bill Govett (Darlene). Treasured sister of Alana Swinn (Mike), and Jeff Govett (Barb). Beautiful sister-in-law of Jerry Christenson (Marilyn), Ron Christenson (Marg), Allan Christenson (Valerie) and Linda Thomlinson (Graham). Special aunt to many nieces and nephews. Julie had a generous and giving spirit that will be greatly missed by all of her many wonderful and loyal friends, and her co-workers at the Sault Ste. Marie Police Services. Many thanks to the doctors, nurses and staff at the SAH Cancer Clinic, ARCH, and to nurses Cara, Lisa, and Brenna of ParaMed for their compassion and expertise. Contributions in Julie’s memory to Tracy’s Dream, SAH Cancer Clinic or ARCH would be appreciated by the family. “I’d like the memory of me to be a happy one. I’d like to leave an afterglow of smiles when life is done. To hear an echo whispering softly down the ways, Of happy times and laughing times and bright and sunny days. Walking dear old Casey on woodsy paths in crisp fall air, Reflecting on a crackling campfire from a canvas chair. Golfing, book club, shopping, dinners-carefree fun, Gliding through sparkling snow diamonds on a perfect ski run. Swimming in Superior’s clear water under skies so fair, I’d like to think that those I love will imagine me there. Lazing on a sandy beach beneath the lovely sun, These happy memories that I leave, when my life is done.” Family and friends are invited to visit the Arthur Funeral Home and Cremation Centre Tuesday February 16, 2016 from 6 to 9 pm and Wednesday, February 17, 2016, from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. Funeral service in the chapel at 1 pm. Mrs. Helen Smith officiating. Inurnment at Greenwood Cemetery.

When Dan asked if I could speak today I was humbled to have the opportunity to honor my dear friend Julie…

My concern… was how could put into a few fleeting words what this wonderful lady meant to us all and how she had affected both our lives and our hearts.

I was lucky to have had several opportunities to spend time with Julie in the last month….one afternoon I asked her if she wanted to share with me one of her favourite memories….her answer to me…..”How do I pick just one when all my memories are great memories?”

That afternoon, Julie and I shared a few tears, I looked at my friend and wished she didn’t have to go thru all she was and more than anything I hated seeing her in any kind of discomfort.

I share this with you because it was this particular afternoon that I realized that my friend had more strength and courage than most…and while I was struggling to keep myself together she told me not to be sad for her…that she got the easy part. Even at this terrible moment in time for her she was more concerned about her family and friends who would be left behind to carry on without her.

Julie had a very adventurous childhood; born in 1958 in Moosejaw Saskatchewan she was the oldest of three – a little sister Alana and a younger brother Jeff, together with their Mom and Dad (Bill and Elsie) they had the opportunity to travel while they were a young family…as Bill was a pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force they saw many places while Julie was a girl. In 1969 their family moved to Australia, where they lived for 2 ½ years. When they came back to Canada they settled in Greenwood, Nova Scotia on the Air Force Base, it was in Nova Scotia that Julie attended high school; Julie shared many happy stories with me over the years of her friends and times in Nova Scotia. Their family moved to Sault Ste. Marie in 1976 where Julie attended Sault College in the Executive Secretarial Program. A few years later, Julie met Dan while they were both working at St. Mary’s paper. Dan was everything to Julie – and they enjoyed 33 very happy years together.

Julie’s family has always been her number one priority - Julie and Dan have three great kids – Erik, Lora and David… I know that Julie was so proud of each of you, most of all and most importantly for the wonderful adults you have all become. Julie was so happy to be able to watch her daughter Lora become a Mother - Julie always had a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye when she spoke of Connor – her beautiful grand baby.

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I have to say that I know Julie to have been a fabulous Mom…she was the Mom that all us other Moms, measured our Mom skills against.

When her kids were little she juggled a full time job, with being a hockey Mom, being a dance Mom and all the while having only homemade chocolate chip cookies in the jar and pizzas made from scratch for her kid’s weekend treat, heck when I was visiting I would ask for a cookie from the jar…. Julie was definitely a great cook.

She always amazed me with her endless energy - you never caught Julie off-guard she was naturally runway beautiful and fashionably dressed at all times – by the time us regular Moms rolled out of bed, she had already been to the gym for an hour, had that night’s dinner in the crockpot and looked like a million bucks - she always made it look easy being a “fabulous Mom”.

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For those of you who don’t me, my name is Lisa Hodgson - I became friends with Julie some 29 years ago when I started working at the Police Station….Julie at that time was already an 7 year veteran and great at her job as a dispatcher, she was respected by everyone and had a strong work ethic…working with her in those early years she was my mentor (and I’m sure countless others would say the same) on a job that she had all the best qualities for, she was cool-headed, confident and had great judgement.

Julie enjoyed working at the Police Station and could boast a 36 year career. She held several positions within the Service and was always good at what she did and everyone always loved her.

Our years together in the court office were fun – we used to joke about upcoming social events and who would be “that person” that would be the talk of the party.

One Christmas party that was memorable, Julie had indulged in a few drinks, we were all getting ready to leave and Julie was talking away, all the while struggling to put her coat on…..we all watched on as she pulled this way and tugged that way, she was cussing and laughing that she couldn’t get her coat on – what we hadn’t told her was that it wasn’t her coat – it didn’t even look like here coat…we all had a great laugh and so, from then on in the office we would tease her “remember that time that you were that person”.

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All who knew Julie well knew that she was a social butterfly; I have never known anyone with so many friends and groups, all wanting to spend time with her and include her in their social activities. She loved to shop with friends, dine with friends and have a drink with friends. Trying to set a date with her to go for dinner always proved a difficult challenge – her social calendar was always full.

I laughed at Julie a few years ago, I think around the time she turned 50, when she said to me quite sternly… that she had become an age where she was only going to spend time doing the things she wanted to do with the people she wanted to do them with….well…. I do believe that there were a lot of people that she wanted to do a lot of things with because she was always busy going somewhere, to do something, with a lot of her special friends.

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Our Julie……..she was a dearest friend, a good listener, a confident, a secret keeper and a partner in crime.

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She was beautiful, kind, sweet, caring, quirky, gentle, good natured, funny and honest….she was a class act.

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To some of us…. she was a book club friend, a gym friend, a golf girl, a spa girl and a co-worker.

To her family…. she was a cousin, an Aunt, a sister-in-law, a sister, a daughter, a mother-in law, a Grandma, a Mom and a wife….…she was so many things, to so many people….and she was extraordinary at them all!

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Not just recently, but many times over the years that I have known Julie - I have found myself pondering her informal nickname…..Jewel.

You may think it’s just an abbreviation of Julie but unknowingly it carries with it a lot of meaning…

I myself used it frequently and I have heard so many others endearingly refer to her as Jewel.

In the past years when I thought about it, I just privately mused that it was a fitting nickname as Julie was always a “Jewel of a friend”.

Now though – I feel that the meaning is so much more – the dictionary defines a jewel as someone or something that is highly valued and admired, most loved, beautiful and rare…..I think that is the perfect definition for what Julie was to so many.

I’m sure you can gather from everything I’ve shared that I looked up to Julie, I admired her, she was an amazing friend….she was the big sister that I got to hand pick.

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Julie was my most beautiful friend, inside and out.

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She will be missed deeply and I will think fondly of her often.

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What I hope… is that rather than dwell in the sadness that she is not with us any longer – that instead we focus on the wonderful happy memories that each and every one of us here, have of her.

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Recall and share your memories.

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Talk and laugh about all those great times.

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Julie would want us to celebrate the amazing life she had…. remembering her with a smile and a warm thought.