Clarence C. Christenson

A memorial service will be celebrated Saturday, April 1, 2017, at Trinity Episcopal Church in Morgan City for Clarence “Coach Christy” Christenson, 82, who passed away on March 15, 2017 after a lengthy illness. Visitation will be from 9:00 – 10:00 with memorial service to follow. Burial will be in Minot, North Dakota. “Christy” was born in Foxholm, North Dakota to immigrant parents from Denmark on July 20th, 1934. He was raised on a farm from which he had many wonderful memories. He moved to Minot, North Dakota in his elementary years. He graduated from Minot High School in 1953 and attended Minot State College and received a Bachelor of Science Degree. He completed his Masters of Education Degree plus 24 hours at Louisiana State University. His love for sports started at a very young age. He always knew he wanted to be a teacher and a coach. The joy he felt from coaching any age level brought much happiness to him and, hopefully, to all those he coached. He was one of the lucky ones as his job was not an occupation but a vocation. He was fortunate enough to begin working at a young age for the Minot recreation department. He worked there for 18 years while coaching youth sports of all age levels. At the age of 19 he was named coach of the Minot, North Dakota American Legion baseball team and coached the team to 4 Western Division Championships and 6 state tournaments in nine seasons. He helped organize Minot’s first Babe Ruth baseball program. He coached the All-Stars from 1970-1973, capturing state titles in 1971 and 1972, and placed 3rd and 4th respectively in the national tournaments. He received his first head coaching job in basketball at Harvey, North Dakota. It was the smallest school in class A. He led Harvey to their first appearance ever in the state tournament in 1961. He returned to Minot in 1963 to become assistant basketball coach and head baseball coach, as well as a business education teacher. During his time as assistant coach with head coach Nick Olson, Minot High appeared in 7 state tournaments and captured state championships in 1965 and 1971. They were state runner up in 1973. As the head baseball coach at Minot High School, he won state championships in 1965, 1967 and 1969. He also organized a popular basketball halftime show with a team of young kids. They mimicked the Harlem Globetrotters and performed at many high school basketball games and the North Dakota state tournament. When he left Minot to go to Louisiana State University, the City of Minot proclaimed Clarence “Christy” Christenson Day. He left Minot with a record of 837 wins and 197 losses and over 30 championships. He was proud to say he was from Minot and the love of Minot stayed with him until his death. He joined his childhood friend and Minot State College teammate, Dale Brown, at LSU in 1973. While finishing his master’s, he was an assistant coach with the men’s basketball program. His responsibilities included evaluating high school prospects, scouting, recruiting, organizing basketball camps and promoting LSU basketball. While there, he started the LSU Tiger Tykes and Tots, a halftime show similar to the one in Minot, which gained national fame. They performed with the Harlem Globetrotters, at the 1987 SEC Championship, on the television programs To Tell the Truth and the Zoom Children’s show, and at many other events. Several former Tykes and Tots went on to sign scholarships with LSU basketball, while others signed scholarships with other universities. After receiving his master’s degree, he took a position in Thibodaux as the director of Parks, Recreation and the Civic Center. There he increased the number of activities from 15 – 45 and team participation increased from 35 summer youth teams to 271 year round teams of all ages. The Civic Center became a place for local events, ice shows, circuses; high school, college and professional games, and many big name stars. In 1979 he returned to LSU be an assistant basketball coach with the Lady Tigers. While there, his recruits included several high school All-Americans and 2 high school Players of the Year who signed with the Tigers. The team’s record was 261-135, an average of 20 wins per season. The late coach Sue Gunter once said that Christy was the best teacher of basketball fundamentals she had ever seen. He also started the TJ Ribs Tykes and Tots who performed at many events, including the Senior Olympics National Basketball Tournament. The Tots were featured in Pistol Pete Maravich’s in teaching video, Homework Basketball. In conjunction with the Tykes, he conducted summer basketball camps for youths from 4-12 years of age. After retiring from LSU, Christy continued to coach by coaching his grandsons in Biddy and AAU basketball. His AAU team, the Morgan City Magic, took many veteran AAU squads by surprise. He really enjoyed coaching those teams. He retired to a camp on the waterfront in Stephensville where he enjoyed his children and their families. There was lots of together time, laughs, stories, gardening, fishing and enjoyment of each other’s company. That was a gift, a true blessing. He was a humble man who was accepting to people from all walks of life and thought everyone should make a difference in the world. Well, Christy, you made a difference. He is survived by his children; Rod Christenson, Baton Rouge; Nancy (Pete) Boudreaux, Morgan City; Brent Christenson, Baton Rouge; Heidi (Brent) Meaux, Jasper, Texas; Scott Christenson, Gulf Shores, Alabama; John Christenson, Morgan City; former wife Yvonne Christenson, Baton Rouge; grandchildren, Aimee (Scott) Bird; Zach and Ben Boudreaux; Kade, Brie, and Kerstin Christenson; great-grandchildren, Andrew, Olivia and Sophie Bird; sister, Edna Lester, Tacoma, Washington. He was preceded in death by his parents, Christ P. and Johanne (Sorenson) Christenson; sisters Lykke, Gladys, Mary, Rose Mae, and brother, Ruben. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the “Coach Christy Christenson Scholarship Fund” at Minot High School in Minot, North Dakota. Donations can be mailed to MPS Foundation, 215 2nd Street Southeast, Minot, North Dakota, 58701 or contact Brittany Hogan at 701-818-2129.