Christine Matilda Waisanen's Obituary
Christine Matilda Waisanen passed away peacefully in her sleep on January 8, 2023. She was 73.
Born in Hancock, Michigan, to Fred and Helen Waisanen, Christine was the eldest of three, followed by her brothers John and Erick. As a child her family lived in Iowa, North Dakota, Finland, Costa Rica and Michigan due to her father’s work as a sociologist.
Christine graduated with honors from the University of Michigan in 1971 and earned her JD at the University of Denver in 1975. She then launched her career as a labor relations attorney with the United States Chamber of Commerce in Washington DC, where she met her now former husband and Delaware native, Robert Katzenstein.
After moving to Wilmington, Delaware, Christine worked as a government relations specialist for ICI before assuming a more difficult job: beloved mother of two sons. She continued her service to the community as the Chairman of the Delaware Coastal Zone Industrial Control Board for over a decade and taught an advanced writing workshop at the University of Delaware Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
Christine was a devoted member of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, where she sang in the choir and served faithfully as a deacon and Stephen Minister, providing care and comfort on behalf of the church for those in need.
She was a traveler, an artist, a figure skater, a singer, a writer, and a dog lover. She enjoyed crossword puzzles and spending her summers at the family cabin on Lake Superior. In her final years, Christine was finishing a book of her Finnish-American family history in the Midwest. Through these pages, her family cherishes the imprint of her memories.
Christine was recovering from a stroke suffered in October 2021, and did so with unrelenting grit and grace. She is survived by her son Erick, of New York, NY, her son Jeff and his wife Carissa, and her grandchildren Kyla, Bria, and Avi, of Kingston, MA. She will be dearly missed.
A celebration of life memorial service will be held at 11 a.m., Tuesday, July 18, 2023 at Reid Funeral Service and Chapel in L’Anse.
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