Jim Christensen: 1954 – 2020

Physical therapist, teacher, friend and father. My dad lived on Whidbey Island for nearly 38 years. He was part of the fabric of the community, most people on the south end had either been a patient of his at some point or knew someone who was.

He built a thriving PT business from the ground up. On the side he taught sports medicine at SWHS — his students left his class with not only an idea of how deal with sprain and strains, but more than a few were inspired by him to pursue the health sciences.

It’s hard to even begin to assess the impact of his life and the shadow left by his passing. He died in February from a rapidly progressing cancer.

Near the end, he moved to Boston, Mass., because he wouldn’t hear of me dropping out of school, not even for this. He was giver. He wanted a wake after his passing and, at some point, I hope to honor that. With the time of COVID-19 and my job at a hospital in New York, timing will be difficult, but will likely be in spring 2021.

You can friend me or my dad (Weston Christensen) on Facebook to hear when the wake will be. I will also post in the newspaper. My dad meant the world to me, but I know he was not only mine; it was in his character to be a role model and I hope that soon we will be able to grieve together.

I hope that many people will remember his favorite quote and his lifelong goal: “to cure sometimes, to relieve often, to care and comfort always.”