George Duane Christiansen

June 14, 1924 - June 17, 2017

George Duane "Opa", "Mr. C." Christiansen, 93, of St. Petersburg, Florida passes away June 17, 2017 surrounded by his loving family. He is preceded in death by his parents, George and Edna Christiansen; wife Georgia; brother, Don, who died in the Korean War; sister, Gwen; and his companion; Sherry Powell. Duane is survived by his children, Michael (Melissa) Christiansen, Deborah Buckley, Mary (Richard) Echternacht, and Linda (Ben) Christiansen; adopted daughter, Tracy (Mark) Buckley; grandchildren, Deain (Bob) Miller, Dain Buckley, Ava, Kim (Chris) Klett, and Richard (Karina) Echternacht; great-grandchildren, Brennan Schombs, Mila, Kellan, and Cooper Miller, Alex, Shelby, and Christian Klett, Heather Echternacht, and Annabell King; sister-in-law, Joyce Austin Lambrecht, and many nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his cat, Minnie. Duane was a Navy veteran of WWII during which time he earned the Purple Heart. Prior to his retirement from the Boy Scouts of America as a Scout Executive, he was awarded the Order of hte Arrow; he then retired from Florida Power. Duane was also a security guard at Placido Bayou. He volunteered as a docent at the Florida International Museum. He was a Mason, member of the Mayflower Society through Stephen Hopkins, as well as a member of the Daniel Boone Society. Duane's favorite activities included traveling, visiting Disney as an annual pass holder/pin trader; he enjoyed painting and white water rafting on his 80th birthday. In lieu of flowers, please consider making donations in Duane's name to Pet Pal or Friends of Strays. Graveside services and burial with Military Rites will be held Saturday, July 1, 2017 at 1:00 pm in the Forest Cemetery in Oskaloosa, Iowa with Pastor Alvern Boetsma officiating. Visitation and Funeral Services have been held in St. Petersburg, Florida.