Oscar M. Christopherson

Oscar Matthew Christopherson, age 87, passed on March 19, 2026.

Before my father passed, I talked with him, “So Dad, a lot of people are writing their own obituaries. Do you think you’d like me to help you do that?” “No. Why in the world would I want to do that?” Little did I know that he had essentially done so already, in correspondence with a woman he had hoped to date. My dad definitely liked having a woman to take care of and to help take care of him. So the following is his “My story,” up until a point. It’s edited to protect and be kind to some who perhaps were not so kind to him. It’s filled out with the last part of what he lived, by me, the first of the four children he had.

My story began in 1938 August 4th. I was born number 12 of 16 children. I went to school in Meeteetse, Wyoming and Graduated in 1956. I joined the United States Air Force in 1957 and served until 1961. 3 years of service in England at RAF Brize Norton near Witney, England. I got married in 1962 to Marie, a beautiful woman I asked to marry me after having known her only two weeks. We were very much in love, and have 4 adult Children born in the 60’s. The first two were in Wyoming. The second two were born in Michigan.

While living in Michigan I was offered and accepted an apprenticeship to learn the trade of Tool & Die Maker. I accepted and completed the 8000-hour apprenticeship in 1970. I thrived and was promoted to Machine Shop Foreman. That went well until 1973, when the bottom fell out of the auto industry. I liked my time in Michigan and really enjoyed my family. There was a deep recession and the plant I was at, Heidrich Tool and Die, had to close. I worked as a Machinist in another shop until it was forced to close. No work, unemployment is running out. After 11 years in Michigan, I did not have employment.

I answered an ad in the Detroit News for machinists needed in Pocatello, Idaho. They sent me a plane ticket, I came west to an interview, and was offered a job at Bucyrus Erie Corp. I accepted and they paid moving expenses. I worked there for 11 years doing my part in the manufacture of large mining equipment.

This was all good until 1982/83 when my wife, the mother of my children, told me she was seriously considering a divorce if I did not do something about my drinking, So I quit/stopped New Year’s Day, 1983. I went into an emotional dive and checked myself into a treatment facility in Gooding Idaho: The Walker Center. I stayed inpatient for 5 weeks.

There was an attempt at reconciliation but ultimately after 21 ½ years there was a divorce. I was going to AA on a daily basis, and that is where I found some of the answers I needed. To this day I credit AA with helping to save my life. Unfortunately, the Bucyrus Erie Plant closed and, once again, I was without a job. A fellow I met in AA and Alanon gave me work at his car Lot. Thank you, Howard and Sharon. I was at an AA meeting when I met my 2nd wife. She was an RN and had a good job. We got married after knowing each other only a short time, in the fall of 1984. We moved to Ogden Utah where I was offered and accepted a job in the Aerospace Industry.

In Ogden we both worked, Linda as a RN and me as a Manufacturing Engineer developing a Machining Facility for GSC Foundries. I was instrumental in building it from its inception to a thriving business. After 18 ½ years of marriage, involving many issues, we were divorced. Despite the circumstances I became an advocate for her and still helped her manage her affairs. She passed away in July of 2023. During this tumultuous time, I once again credit AA. With all of this personal turmoil I went to AA, ofttimes to 3 meetings a day. I give my gratitude for AA and the founders of the fellowship.

I lived alone for a time, 2 or so years. I met wife number 3 at an Al-Anon meeting. She (Shari) was 23 years younger than I. I gave her my phone number, and she called me in a panic, because she was being evicted. I went to her place and ended up moving her to my basement. Oops! I should have known better. In the fall of 2018, she served me with papers. I knew that I could not afford to live where I was --- I looked to Malad, Idaho.

Why Malad? Years ago, in 1961 before any marriage, I drove an 18-wheeler and one of our pick up points was the old grist mill in Malad. I liked the town and was impressed. The land around it is similar to Meeteetse, Wyoming. When I was new in AA an older fellow invited me to ride with him to an AA meeting in Malad and I accepted and seemed accepted. I always called the city, “My lad.”

That third wife came back after the money she took ran out, just in time for the move. We moved on Nov 5th, 2018, with the help of my family, thank you family. All was well, other than I had to be on oxygen continually. I thought I was otherwise healthy. Surprise, I ended up in ER on the 11th of November, 2018 with what was thought to be an infection. I was referred to Ogden for an exam and bladder Cancer was discovered. I have had 6 surgeries so far.

Today, I am close to my 4 children, 9 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren with another on the way for July 2020. I talk daily to one or more of my remaining siblings. My extended family is vast and near and far. Four men remain out of the family of 16. I am the oldest. I have reconnected to AA. The Malad group is small but serious about recovery.

All is well, I am in good spirits.

And here I am, the first of the four. Picking up the story. Dad wrote this in early 2020, right after a snowplow in Malad knocked him to the ground. This began a series of falls. And then a stroke in May of 2020, at the height of Covid-19. Seeing Dad struggle with things better left unmentioned here led his children to help him with life decisions that he may have wanted to avoid, but in the end, he expressed gratitude. He moved back to Pocatello in 2024 to live with my family, and was happy – attending an ARP group, going to church with our neighbors (thank you Russ and Christine), working out with his son James twice a week, and eating a family dinner with my entire family every Sunday night. On September 30th, 2025 he went in for a routine procedure, and the cancer was back – and it had metastasized. Dad wanted to make it to his 88th birthday; he made it to 87 and 227 days, which makes him the longest living Christopherson man to date. He is survived by his first wife, Marie; his four children – Rose (Ralph) Eidemiller, Joe (Lisa) Christopherson, Susan Christopherson, and James (Mary) Christopherson; nine grandchildren – Nick, Lindsay, Carly, Nathaniel, Andy, Caitlin, Chloe, Jessica, and Lauren; and four great-grandchildren – Emerson, Eisley, Miles, and Zia. He is also survived by two brothers, several double cousins, and uncountable nieces and nephews and double cousins’ offspring. He was preceded in death by his second wife, Linda Kay nee Clark, his parents, Joseph and Coral, 13 of his siblings, and one grandson – Seanie. No one cares about that third wife (he told me to put this in). Dad’s last words to me were, “Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” I may not know everything, but I know he was welcome, and I love him. Love does not die, it transcends.

A visitation will be held from 5:00 - 7:00 pm on Monday, March 30, 2026 at Wilks Funeral Home, 211 W Chubbuck Road, Chubbuck, ID.

A graveside dedication will be held for Oscar on Monday, May 11, 2026, at 3:00 pm in the Meeteetse, Wyoming cemetery. Dinner will follow at 4:30 pm, in Burlington, Wyoming at The Church of Latter-day Saints following the conclusion of the interment.

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