Robert Christiansen

Robert M. Christiansen, 95, passed away peacefully at his residence with his wife of 68 years, Elinor, at his side on October 16, 2020. He was born in Chicago Illinois on November 5, 1924. He entered the first engineering class at Northwestern University in 1941 after graduating from high school at age 16. Education was then interrupted by WW2. He served in the Navy from July 1944 until honorable discharge June 1946. He then completed Bachelors and Masters degrees in Chemical Engineering at Northwestern in 1947 and 1949. After 3 years of work in engineering, he returned for his PhD from University of Pennsylvania in 1952 and completed PhD in 1955. Most of his career was with Stearns Roger in Denver 1962 - 1985, including starting and managing the Environmental Sciences Division that grew to 100 people, for 13 of those years. He married Elinor Todd in July 1952 and he is survived by his wife and three children, 8 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. He loved his family and they all spent much time in the mountains, building one of the early homes in Dillon Colorado in 1967. His favorite hobby was sailing. He maintained a sailboat on Lake Dillon during the summers for more than 40 years. He and family also were devoted to their church, the Kirk of Bonnie Brae where they were members for more than 50 years and continued to enjoy Sunday services on Zoom through the pandemic including the last Sunday of his wonderful life. He will be remembered as an inspiring father and husband and an excellent engineer. His dedication to family, adventurous spirit and solid work ethic will live on. He will be missed by family and many friends. A memorial service will wait until 2021 due to public health risks at this time. Any memorial gifts should be made to the Kirk of Bonnie Brae at 1201 South Steele Street, Denver, CO, 80210.