She was born on July 15, 1925, to Wiley Braxton and Maude (Corley) Harrison in Tenaha, Texas. Fern graduated from Tenaha High School and business college in Alexandria, Louisiana, where in 1944 she met Warren Christensen, while he was stationed at Alexandria Army Air Base. Upon his return from the War, they married and settled in Tillamook, Oregon to raise their family. They moved to Mesa, Arizona, then later retired to Texas to the family home. She and Warren moved back to Mesa in 2010.
Fern was on the residents board at the Citadel. She enjoyed flower arranging and cooking. Her specialty was country fried chicken, which was hard to beat. She cherished spending time with her family.
She is survived by her daughter Donna Jarzyna and her husband Mark; daughter Cheri Bradshaw (husband, Allen); grandchildren John Warren Dickinson and his wife Robbin, Mark Richard Dickinson and his wife Amiee, Kristen Lee Bradshaw MacKenzie and her husband Scot, Lee Allen Bradshaw and his wife Lisa; great grandchildren John Griffin “Finn” Dickinson, Evelyn Clara Dickinson, Grant Dickinson, Alex Simpson, Brodrick Christen Bradshaw, Bromley Dallen Bradshaw, Kaitlin Anne MacKenzie, Isobel Grace MacKenzie and numerous nieces and nephews in Texas and Oregon.
Fern is preceded in death by her parents, husband Warren, son in law Allen Bradshaw and her 6 brothers and sisters.
Services will be held at Corley Harrison Family Cemetery in Tenaha, Texas at a later date. Arrangements are entrusted to Mariposa Gardens Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the First United Methodist Church in Tenaha, Texas.
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