Obituary
We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Charles (Charlie) Christy on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Born October 6, 1937 in Salt Lick, Kentucky. Charles was raised and attended school in Salt Lick. He joined the Air Force in February, 1956. He became a special intelligence analyst and soon Staff Sergeant. He was stationed in many places such as Wake Island, Kwaja Island, Hawaii, Spain, Okinawa, Guam, and Alaska. Upon arrival home to Kentucky, he proposed to Frances (Frankie) Poston after dating her for the past 5 years. They were married in 1959 during his duty in Myrtle Beach, SC. He served in Newfoundland, Formosa, Taiwan, Philippines, and Johnston Island over the next few years and had two daughters, Dana and Sissy. He was then stationed in Cross City, FL and Orlando, FL. This is when they had their third daughter, Carla. The family then moved to Germany until he received orders to move to Lewistown, MT. The Lewistown base closed during his time there and Charles was the last man remaining at this base until he received his orders to transfer to Fortuna Air Force Base in North Dakota and serve as radar command center specialist. Fortuna is where his dream of having a son finally came true. John W. was born and he could not be any more proud of his boy.
He took great pride in his military service in the Air Force and received many reward certifications. He was proud of all the places he was able to serve. He retired in 1976 after 20 years. He then worked at the Farmers Elevator in Fortuna until 1978 when he decided to move the family back to Missouri and take a job as a railroad engineer. He and his brother-in-law Richard built the family a house in the woods. This was a big job to take on as neither had a lot of experience in this area, but they learned along the way and even cut their own lumber with a saw mill they purchased. This move only lasted a few years though as his oldest daughter Dana married in North Dakota instead of moving to Missouri. She gave him his first grand baby, Shauna (Pete to him). He of course could not stand to be so far away from her and realized he really did love the country and the people in the Westby/Fortuna area, so therefore moved his family back to Westby and took a job as a truck driver in the oilfield. He soon was a grandpa (Papa) to four girls, Shauna, Zandy, Brianna, and Heather. He sure was loving those girls, but again was patiently waiting for some boys. Soon enough he got double with twins Derek and Dustin. Soon to follow came his little girl, Shylo, and yet another boy, Skyler, just to add to the mix. Oh, but hold on, his son John gave him two more boys, Jai and Ryley. The kids all adored their Papa. There were many family get-togethers and holidays with the whole crew and it was always a happy chaotic mess! He loved it when the whole family showed up, but he was also very happy to help pack them all up to send them back home. He was so proud of everyone in his family.
Charles loved to fish and hunt with his son and whoever else wanted to go along. He also loved working in his yard and his garden. Each trip back to Kentucky, he would bring trees and plants home with him to plant in his yard. (And maybe a little moonshine). He made his own little piece of Kentucky in Westby. During the Christmas season people loved to drive by his yard and admire all of his decorations and lights. Charles absolutely loved the small town of Westby and it became home to himself and Frankie. He loved to be one of the first ones at the cafe to meet for coffee with all of his friends. There were lots of big fish stories as well as exaggerated garden stories told there! In 2014 he and Frankie decided to downsize and move to Plentywood. He really did miss his yard, his home, the cafe, and his friends in Westby.
In 2015 he had a bad fall and broke his hip. This caused a great deal of pain as the hip seemed to never get better which impaired his mobility. In 2016 he lost his beautiful daughter, Sissy, and his heart never did quite heal. In October 2023, he sadly had to go to the Sheridan Memorial Nursing Home as his health and inability to walk became too much for him to be able to stay at home. He did love the nursing home staff as well as the hospital staff and they all made him feel so cared for. He would visit with anyone that wanted to hear his stories. He had some pretty darn good stories to tell and he had a good sense of humor. His pride and his stubbornness subjected him to a serious fall which he unfortunately was unable to fight through.
Charles is survived by his wife Frankie Christy; daughter Dana Finnesgard (Lincoln) and their children Shauna Maus and Brianna Finnesgard; son-in-law James Witkowski and children Zandria Ball, Shylo Witkowski, and Skyler Witkowski; daughter Carla Mangel (Doug) and their children Heather Wirtz (Dusty), Derek Mangel (Gennene), and Dustin Mangel; and son John Christy and his sons Jai Christy (Madison) and Ryley Christy; and great grandchildren Lexi Ordahl, Cody Hahne, Jaiden Ball, Makenzie Ball, Adysen Witkowski, Parker Wirtz, and Remi Wirtz. He is also survived by his brothers Donald Christy and Michael Neff; sisters Dianna Deschenes and Tillie Crouch; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.
He is preceded in death by his grandparents John and Blanche Fowler; parents Leslie and Edna Christy; brothers Leslie Christy Jr., John A. Christy, and Ronald Christy; sister Sharon (Kay) Neff; daughter Teresa (Sissy) Witkowski; and great granddaughter Hailey Ordahl.
Graveside committal services will be conducted 1PM Saturday, June 22, 2024 at the Daneville Cemetery south of Westby. A reception will then follow at the Immanuel Lutheran Church fellowship hall in Westby.
