Obituary of Christian C. Christiansen, Jr.

Christian Carl Christiansen, Jr. (Chris) passed away on April 2, 2020 at Sunrise Assisted Living of Paramus, NJ. He was 86. Chris was an avid sailor, a family man, and a dynamic member and leader in the Ramsey community and in the New York City financial industry for more than fifty years. Chris was born in York, PA to Christian and Anna Christiansen. He was a graduate of Penn State University, BA in Business, Accounting, class of 1955. He married Nancy L. Christiansen, also from York, in 1956. They were married for sixty four years. During his long career, Chris was an Executive Vice President and General Auditor for Bankers Trust Company in New York City. As General Auditor he had oversight of the investment bank’s worldwide operations. He also served as President of the New York and New Jersey chapters of the Financial Executives Institutes. Earlier in his career, Chris served as the Comptroller for the Bergen Record and worked for Sealtest Foods and Ernst & Ernst where he became a Certified Public Accountant. He also served stateside in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Chris was an active member of the First Presbyterian Church in Ramsey for over fifty years and served as Financial Chairman, Clerk of Session and Chairman of the Who’s Who in Ramsey. He was President of the Ramsey Golf & Country Club and, during the years his son and daughter were in high school, he also served on the Board of Education. Chris loved to sail, travel, read, laugh and spend time with his family and friends. He enjoyed many years of playing tennis and platform tennis at the Brookside Tennis Club and RG&CC. His humor, dry wit and generosity made him a dear friend and valued colleague in his church, club, town and professional communities and he will be truly missed. He is survived by his wife Nancy, son David A. Christiansen, his wife Amy Nolan; daughter Melinda Christiansen Van Lare, her husband Ted; three grandchildren Alison Nolan, Eric Christiansen and Rowan Van Lare, his sister Anne Christiansen and her husband Peter Czornyj. A Memorial Service will be held at a future date and the family will make an announcement when those arrangements have been set. Arrangements are by the Vander Plaat Funeral Home of Wyckoff (vpfh.com)