Marcella Christensen knew how to stretch a bill at Angel of the Winds in Arlington.
Push a slot machine button, chat, push a button, chat. She spent as much time visiting with anyone happened to sit at the next machine.
“She talked to strangers,” her daughter, Mary Stensrude, said. “She could take $20 and turn it into three or four hours of fun.”
And the next time she saw the stranger, she would know the person’s name and life story.
Being a good friend was her thing. So were angels. Christensen collected angels for 25 years and believed everyone had a special guardian.
Marcella “Marcy” Darlene Christensen, 72, died Nov. 23. She cooked Thanksgiving dinner the night before and her stuffing turned out great.
Christensen died early in the morning at home from an apparent heart attack.
“Hopefully, her angel was with her,” Stensrude said. “She believed no one died alone.”
She was born to Gustau and Emma Hanson in 1935 in Esmond, S.D. Her parents were farmers, but they moved to Washington when Gustau Hanson got a job with The Boeing Co.
She married David Christensen and they lived in Arlington for 25 years. In Arlington, Marcy Christensen said there was something missing in her life.
She found what was lacking – at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church. A woman at Bible study gave her an angel, and the collection began.
As friendly as she was, it was no hardship to take in anyone who needed to crash on her couch.
“If you spent Saturday night,” Stensrude said, “You got up and went to church at 10 a.m. Sunday.”
Her mother wore earrings to chapel, and preferred to dress in T-shirts and jeans.
“A lady wears earrings,” she often said.
You might often find her at 7 p.m. weeknights in front of the television set. There was always time for “Wheel of Fortune.” She was disappointed that Marie Osmond didn’t win the recent “Dancing With The Stars” competition.
Even her angels couldn’t help Christensen thwart tragedy. Her son Joseph “Jay” Cordell was killed by a drunken driver in October, 2005, struck while riding a bike across the 112th Street SE overpass in south Everett. Her husband David died four months later after a stroke.
“Her Davey,” Stensrude said, “she loved him.”
Granddaughter Jaymi McGrane said she her grandmother will become one of the angels.
“She’s a guardian on high,” her granddaughter said. “Guiding, advising and watching over me.”
Marcy Christensen is survived by her daughters, Jody Rossow, of Glennwood, Wis., Stensrude, Randy Helland of Florida, Ricky St. Martin of Marysville, and her sister, Gladys Zellar, of Arlington, S.D.
Stensrude came from Omaha, Neb., to stay with her mother after the family deaths. Stensrude said her mother enjoyed shopping, playing quarter slot machines and getting to know everyone in Arlington.
“I would get phone calls for ‘Mom,’ ” Stensrude said. “She had 60 ‘kids’ in Arlington.”
The home phone was always ringing, and her mother made time for everyone.
Though Stensrude is divorced, her ex-husband still received birthday cards from his former mother-in-law. Christensen never missed anyone’s anniversary or birthday, even if you weren’t officially part of the family.
She and her husband loved to travel and she posted magnets of trips around the United States inside her metal front door. SeaWorld was her favorite place.
Stensrude is moving back to Nebraska. The angel collection has been carefully shipped from Arlington. A few are left to pack, including one reading “Angels are often disguised as friends.”
“Mom didn’t knit or crochet,” her daughter said. “She was too busy being a friend to everyone.”
Reporter Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com.
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