AUGUST 4, 1950 - JANUARY 18, 2022
Nathan Elliott Christian was born in Kingsville, Texas, August 4,1950, to George Nathan and Mary Frances Christian. He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Margaret (“Margy”) Anne Christian, two children, Anne Elizabeth Christian Klemp, and her husband, Craig Miyamoto Klemp, and his son, Geoffrey Nathan Christian, and his wife, Joanne Marie Christian. He was also blessed with two precious grandsons, Elliott Matthew Klemp and William Craig Klemp. He is survived by his very loving sister, Pennie Christian Olivo and her husband, Brock Olivo. Nathan passed away peacefully in Austin, Texas, to be with our Lord on January 18, 2022, after waging a valiant battle with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.
Nathan grew up in Kountze, Texas, and matriculated to Baylor University in 1968. He graduated from Baylor with a B.S and Masters Degrees in Economics. Baylor would become the love of his life, ranked only shortly behind his faith and his family. He was the penultimate Bear fan and would cheer for them and support them in any sport. He served on the community board of the Hankamer School of Business and mentored and provided scholarships for its students. He bled green and gold.
His career began with First City National Bank in Houston, where he would meet and fall in love with his fellow management trainee, Margy. They married in 1975 and have been inseparable since then. In 1979, they moved to El Paso, Texas, where Nathan continued his career as President of First City National Bank. He later was named President of State National Bank of El Paso, which became Wells Fargo Bank. Wells Fargo transferred Nathan to lead its Southern California and Border banking team in San Diego, and in 2006 he was named Regional President of Wells Fargo Bank for the state of Colorado in Denver. He retired from Wells Fargo in 2013.
While in El Paso, Nathan led almost every civic organization in the city. He was, among many more, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, President of the Sun Bowl Association, Chairman of the United Way campaign, President of the Boy Scouts, founded and led the annual El Paso Festival and the Trans Mountain Heart Association Run, an elder and treasurer of First Presbyterian Church, and was named the first ever El Pasoan of the Year. As his banking career moved to California and Colorado, he continued his civic pursuits. In his spare time he ran a marathon, biked century rides and completed two Ride the Rockies five day bicycling events. He also managed to take many hunting trips, including one in the Yukon bagging a moose, caribou, and grizzly bear, and one in New Zealand for a red stag.
After his well deserved retirement, Nathan and Margy moved to Austin, Texas, and also built their dream home in Deer Valley, Utah. They went back and forth throughout the year, many times driving with their beloved black lab, Walter. Nathan fly-fished, hunted, skied, and traveled around the world with friends and family. He was active in Crosspoint Presbyterian Church in Park City and Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church in Austin. He volunteered as a leader in the God of Hope prison ministry in Austin. His children and grandchildren thrived, and he had a beautiful retirement.
When Nathan became ill, he returned to Austin for care. He had nonstop family and friends who came to be with him, truly blessings from God. A very special thank you goes to Yvette Washington, Justin Thomas, Ella Webb, and Jaylon Thomas and the staff at Querencia skilled nursing and Halcyon Hospice, especially Michelle and Nancy, who lovingly cared for Nathan (“Mr. Nate”) every day. God has given us many blessings and carried us through to the end. We all loved our Nathan and will miss him every minute of every day, but we know he is in Paradise and his protective, loving, kind and gentle spirit is with us always.
Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church, 7127 Bee Cave Road. For those in attendance, a mask is requested to be worn throughout the service.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Nathan’s memory can be made to either:
The God of Hope Ministries
www.thegodofhope.org
4220 Monterey Oaks Blvd.
Austin TX 78749
or
Baylor University Gift Processing
Nathan E. and Margaret A. Christian Endowed Scholarship Fund in Economics
One Bear Place #97050
Waco TX 76798-7050
