Fred Matt Christensen, husband, father, grandpa and “grandpa great”, passed away peacefully at home on Sept. 25 of heart failure.
He was born in the spring of 1937 in Logan, UT to J. Mat and Ida Hiltbrand Christensen. He was raised in North Logan, UT. The family moved to Idaho in 1950. He graduated from Pocatello High School. He attended Brigham Young University, where he met his wife, Mary Newton. They were soon married in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. They moved to Logan, where Fred attended Utah State University and completed a B.S. and M.S. in Agricultural Education. After graduation, he accepted a teaching position at Altamont High School. Three years later, he accepted a teaching position at Bear River High School (BRHS) and Junior High School. He taught school for 37 years and held many professional association leadership roles. He was the Future Farmers of America advisor at BRHS for more than three decades and mentored generations of farmers.
Fred and Mary are the parents of four children: Jim (Lorraine) Christensen, Ken (Diane) Christensen, Kathy (Todd) Schvaneveldt, and Becky (John) Harrison.
He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and held many callings in his ward and stake, including a stake mission and two proselytizing missions with Mary to the Oklahoma Tulsa Mission and the Ohio Cleveland Mission. Fred and Mary also served for 15 years as ordinance workers in the Logan and Brigham City LDS temples.
In addition to his church service, he spent much of his life serving young men through the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), eventually being nominated for the BSA’s Silver Beaver award by his peers.
He served for eight years on the Garland City Council and multiple terms on the Box Elder County Mosquito Abatement Board. The Box Elder County Fair Board nominated him for grand marshal of the Box Elder County Fair Parade in 2016 for his great work with the community.
He is survived by his wife; his four children; a sister, Janice (Lee) Jensen; a brother, David (Linda) Christensen; 11 grandchildren; and 17 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents and siblings Alan Christensen, Karen Richards, and John Christensen.
He loved his faith and family, and enjoyed the outdoors, animals, camping, fishing, and hunting. He was a committed conservationist.
A viewing will be held on Thursday, Sept. 30, from 6-8 p.m. at Rogers & Taylor Funeral Home (111 N. 100 E Tremonton, UT) and on Friday, Oct. 1, from 9:30-10:30 a.m. at the Garland LDS Chapel, 175 S. Main.
A funeral will follow at 11 a.m. in the chapel. The service will be live streamed and may be found at www.ruddfuneralhome.com under his obituary, as well as online condolences.