Renee Barbro Kallenjsö Christiansen

Services for Renee Barbro Kallenjsö Christiansen, age 90, of West Monroe, Louisiana, will be at 12:00 P.M. on Saturday, December 3, 2022, at New Iona Presbyterian Church in West Monroe, Louisiana.  Officiating the service will be Pastor Lane Thompson.

Renee was born on March 16, 1932, in Sundsvall, Sweden and died on November 30, 2022, in West Monroe, Louisiana.  She was the daughter of a Methodist minister in Sweden and grew up loving our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  In 1956 she met Arne Christiansen while is Sweden and they married in 1957.  They had two children, Arne Christopher and Renee Anne Marie, before immigrating to the U.S. in 1959 where they settled in Rockaway, New Jersey and had two more children: Jan Peter and Nina Marie.  Eventually they moved to Louisiana. 

Renee had a special love for her lifelong friends that she met along the way.  She loved sharing stories with her grandchildren about all of them.  Late in life Renee moved to Ridgecrest Community Care Center, where she received loving care and made new friends with whom she could drink coffee and discuss world affairs.

Renee attended County College of Morris, where she obtained her degree as a Registered Nurse.  She had such a love for nursing that she never felt like it was a job.  Renee’s love of learning extended into her senior years with a desire to learn how to speak Spanish. 

Renee loved her Swedish heritage and being a Swedish citizen; however, in 2016 she became an American citizen so she could vote in the election.  She always had strong opinions on many issues and loved nothing more than sharing those same opinions.  

Renee was a wonderful mother, grandmother, and great grandmother.  She loved having coffee, cake, and good conversation.  She had a great sense of humor and loved to engage in deep discussions with her family and friends.  Renee is preceded in death by her father, Karl Kallensjö, her mother, Ella Kallensjö, her sister, Sonja Dillner and her close friend, John Boudreaux.

She is survived by her brother, Ragnar Dillner of Vemdalen, Sweden; her children, Arne Christopher Christiansen and wife Melissa of Baton Rouge, LA; Renee’ Anne Marie Christiansen and partner, Robert Weiner of Forest Hills, NY; Jan P. Christiansen and wife, Karla of West Monroe, LA; and Nina Marie Christiansen Miller and husband Richard of Haughton, LA;  grandchildren: Tia Patron Edmondson, Emily Christiansen, Anna Christiansen Moreno, Jakob Christiansen, Christian Patron, and Faith Miller; great grandchild, Theodore Edmondson and numerous nieces and nephews in America, Norway and Sweden whom she loved dearly.  

Honorary Pallbearers will be Jakob Christiansen, Christian Patron, Richard Miller, Robert Wiener, Trey Edmondson, Joe Schmidt, Daniel Moreno, and Theodore Edmondson.  

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to New Iona Presbyterian Church (newiona.net).