Earl Christianson

February 20, 1948 ~ September 19, 2022 Earl Wallace Christianson of Canadian Lakes, MI formerly of Dearborn passed away unexpectedly at U of M Health-West Hospital of Acute Myeloid Leukemia. His wife, Elaine and sons, Kyle and Jeremy, were at his side. Earl was born in Chicago, IL. The youngest of four children, Earl grew up in the small suburb of Midlothian, IL. He and Elaine married just prior to his graduation from Southern Illinois University. Over the years, his career choices led him into retail store management, hospital purchasing, maintenance company co-ownership and school maintenance. He would also volunteer as often as time would allow. Earl and Elaine fell in love with Canadian Lakes while vacationing there. They knew it was where they would retire one day. In 2013 that is exactly what happened. Earl's plan for moving to Canadian Lakes was to enjoy time with family, work around the house, do a little traveling, do some volunteering and spend time out on the lakes and fish. Earl was never a person to slow down though. Volunteering continued to be a big part of him even after retirement. Participating in and giving back to his new home community was very important to him. Within a year of moving to Canadian Lakes, he became involved in the Canadian Lakes Players (theatre group) and then the Canadian Lakes Association, serving seven years on the Board of Directors, five of which were as President. Throughout his life, Earl was a kind, respectful, gentle man with a strong sense of integrity. He enjoyed a good laugh. He refused to make snap decisions, if at all possible. He thought things through before deciding how best an issue could be handled. He understood too that some decisions would be easy and some not, but he always did what he felt was right. He is survived by his wife, Elaine. They were married for 52 years and friends for 55. He was a loving dad to Kyle (Rebecca Doerr) and Jeremy (Lauren Guzik) and a good grandpa to Emily, Aidan, Brynn, Owen and Vivian. He loved his family dearly and was extremely proud of them. We truly were the lucky ones to have had him. Earl is preceded in death by his parents, Louis and Marie (Maloney) Christianson, step-mother Bessie Mae (Timmons) Christianson, in-laws Edward and Pennie (Lozofski) LIchnerowicz, his sister, Mary Lou (Christianson) Long Bailey, brothers, Louis Christianson, Jr., Russell Christianson and many extended family members. He is survived by his sisters-in-law, brother-in-law, many nephews and nieces, their families, plus many caring friends. Memorial donations may be made in Earl's name to the HealthWell Foundation at www.healthwellfoundation.org Cremation arrangements are entrusted to Michigan Cremation & Funeral Care, Grand Rapids, 616-452-3006. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Earl Christianson, please visit our flower store.