Louise Marie Christensen, 93, of Mitchell and formerly of Sturgis, died at the Avera Brady Health and Rehabilitation in Mitchell.

Visitation will be Thursday, June 23rd from noon until 9:00 p.m. with a vigil beginning at 7:00 p.m. at Kinkade Funeral Chapel.

Mass of Christian burial will be held Friday, June 24, 2011, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church with Father Arnold Kari officiating. Burial will follow at St. Aloysius Cemetery.

Louise was born June 21, 1917, in Sturgis, SD, to Jakob and Margaret (Lorang) Weyrich. She grew up east of Sturgis along Bear Butte Creek and spent most of her life in western SD.

Louise married Roy C. Christensen at the Bear Butte Valley Church on February 12, 1938. She moved to Mitchell in 1996.

Louise was a member of the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Sturgis and active in circle. Later, she attended Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Mitchell. Louise enjoyed cooking, sewing, gardening, and painting. She also spent time as a caregiver for her parents.

Louise is survived by two sons, Paul (Barbara) Christensen, Mt. Zion, IL, and Martin (Cindy) Christensen, Mitchell; a daughter, Anne (Ralph) Pierce, Sioux Falls; a son-in-law, George Sigman, Pensacola, FL; three sisters, Helen Komes, Sturgis, Gladys (Vern) Brown, Vale, and Dorothy (Lynn) Dunn, Vale; two brothers, Frank (Karen) Weyrich, Yoder, WY, and Paul (Helen) Weyrich, Newcastle, WY; sixteen grandchildren; fourteen great-grandchildren; and eight great-great-grandchildren.

Louise was preceded in death by both parents; a daughter, Marguerite Sigman; two brothers, Vic Weyrich and Leo Weyrich; two sisters, Clara Knutson and Mary Erickson; and two sisters in infancy, Alice and Gertrude.

Memorials have been established to Avera Brady Nursing Home and St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Sturgis.