Alan Nicholas Christensen

West Point, 1964

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Sal Culosi on August 7, 1999:

We gather here today as a community to honor Alan Nicholas John Christensen - a beloved husband, a loving father, a devoted brother and brother-in-law, a kind uncle, a respectful nephew, caring cousin and a genuinely dedicated and loyal friend. This is the last community gathering to honor his memory - a community who has known Al and now comes to recognize him as a good person who demonstrated his commitment to the West Point motto of "Duty, Honor, Country". After today, we will have the privilege of honoring him privately, within our hearts, by remembering who he was and by following his example. But before we let today get away, I would like to share a few personal thoughts. Al's passing as a young man, only 57, generates deep emotions about how much more time there should have been for him to enjoy life, his wife, his family, his friends and his work. He loved life, he loved people and he loved his work. Over a year ago, Al was experiencing the early symptoms of Amyothrophic Lateral Sclerosis - ALS (Lou Gerig's Diseas). As he lost strength in his hands and his speech began to slow down, he was determined to keep his symptoms from his employer and continued to try to work as hard as he could - until it became obvious to everyone, except Al, that he could not continue. Getting him to go on medical disability was tough. At first he would not hear of it. Sick leave was not in his vocabulary. In his mind, if people were counting on you, you performed with every fiber in your being. Those of you who worked with him experienced first hand the reality of his unsurpassed work ethic and complete dedication to a job well done. Only when we convinced him it was his duty to go on sick leave did he do so. It was then that he began to face the reality of what was to come. Al was taken from us much too early. But then I remember other classmates who Al now joins who were cheated out of even more years. That doesn't lessen the pain of Al's passing; it just helps to keep things in perspective. When the Good Lord wants you, we have no choice but to answer the call. Al answered the call with dignity and courage. It broke my heart to see what this devastating disease did to him. The disease took his body, buy it did not get his soul, his spirit. It did not take that intangible something that makes us who we are. Al remained himself right to the end. When ALS took away his ability to speak, he forged ahead, being accepting, always with a nod and a smile and an uncanny way to communicate with his big blue eyes. There is one incident, a week before his passing, that I must relate to you that moved me deeply and is but one example of his concern and love for others right up to the end. When his young niece Danielle came from New Jersey to visit Al in the hospital, I could see a bit of uneasiness in the young lady; she is only 8 years old. Here she is before her uncle who cannot speak and is hooked up to ominous life support equipment. I could see in Al's eyes that he sensed Danielle's uneasiness and that he wanted to make her feel comfortable but he could not speak. When I looked at Al again, his eyes gave me a message for Danielle to break the ice. I then turned to Danielle and said, "Uncle Al says he loves you and is happy you came to see him". I turned to Al and he smiled and nodded. He then turned open his limp left hand that he could hardly move and turned his head toward Danielle - a gesture that was clear he wanted to hold Danielle's hand. She put her hand in his hand and he closed his hand ever so gently on her hand. Danielle was no longer anxious. She shared a precious tender movement with her uncle and Al loved every minute of it. That was Al, a caring loving person. In the 39 years I have known him, I really cannot recall him saying anything unkind about anyone. He had no anger, no guile. He was a real southern gentleman. My Italian blood gives me a real appreciation for his virtues of patience and understanding of others. I wish I could emulate him more in these areas. He would always see the bright side of a situation. He was very even-tempered and jovial, always ready with a funny story, especially stories about his wife Maria that would have us "rolling in the isles." He loved to kid Maria and I am sure those "kidding times" will give strength to Maria, Kenny and Lisa knowing that Al would not want them to be sad. Al had an unbelievable memory of the many happy times we had together and he was always recounting them as his way of savoring the past as he helped us enjoy the present and prepare for more fun times in the future. He really loved and enjoyed people and people really loved and enjoyed him. It's not every day that I say I love you to my friends. Over the past 39 years I did not tell Al that I loved him. That's not macho. Guys just don't do that to friends, so I thought. But the days before he died, I found it easy to tell Al that I loved him and that he had great courage in his suffering through this terrible disease and that we would all miss him. I told him that I would try to honor his memory by being more selfless as he was, more understanding as he was, more fun loving as he was, more appreciative of the good times as he was. That is his legacy for me. And each of you can honor Al by emulating all that was good about him, especially those traits we lack. God does not make junk and He puts us on this earth for a reason. When asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus said there are 2 great commandments: 1. Love the Lord with your whole heart, your whole mind, your whole soul, and your whole strength and 2. Love your neighbor as yourself. These two commandments are really one commandment because we love God when we love our neighbor. Al obeyed that commandment and we are richer for it. He loved us, he touched us in a special way and we are grateful. Al was a real trooper. Now he is a soldier in Christ's Army. Two months ago, Al was confirmed into the Catholic Church and wanted his 2 West Point roommates (John Murray and me) to be a part of it since we had occasionally kidded him about "getting with the program." Al took the confirmation name of John after John Murray and I was his Godfather. Just hours before he passed away, Al acknowledged the priest who had come to give him the Last Rites. He made his peace with God and the priest administered the Apostolic Blessing. He is now where we hope we will be some day. When the Good Lord calls us, Al will probably be a 5 star general in Christ's Army. If rank has its privileges, I pray that Al will grease the skids for us when our time comes. Death only ends a life here on earth; death does not end a relationship. Until we meet again, Al, your memory is in our hearts and your soul is with the Lord.

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