Christine Rosalind Nisselius

  A “Celebration of Life” service for Chris will be held, Saturday, November 18, 2017 at 2 pm at the First Baptist Church, Gillette, Wyoming.  Interment will follow at Mr. Pisgah Cemetery. A visitation will be held Friday, November 17, 2017 from 4:00-7:00 pm at Gillette Memorial Chapel.  Christine Rosalind Nisselius, longtime resident of Gillette, went to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on Saturday morning, October 21, 2017 at “The Legacy Living and Rehabilitation Center” surrounded by her family and dear friends. She was 94. She was born on November 29, 1922 to James Arthur and Kate (Glasgow) Rutherford in Houston, Missouri.  She had one brother, Eugene.  She graduated from Houston High School in 1940 where she was involved in playing the French horn and violin in orchestra and played tennis for the high school.  Her love of music included playing piano and transferred to her family and to her later community involvement in Gillette. After graduation from high school, she attended Christian College, a two-year school for women in Columbia, Missouri where she met her husband, Jack, on a blind date.  They were married on November 14, 1943 in Cleburne, Texas.  To this union, was born a son, James Arthur in 1945 and a daughter, Judith Kay, in 1948.  After Jack’s discharge from the army in 1946, they returned to Gillette where Jack joined his parents in the Gillette News-Record.  Chris’s love of music inspired her involvement with a number of close friends in forming the Buffalo/Gillette “Community Concert Association”.  She was also instrumental in raising funds for a Baby Grand Piano for the “Community Concert’s” performances.  Her community mindedness also included being involved with other mothers in the “Throat Swabbing School Program” instituted by Dr. Brandon Phibbs and the State of Wyoming Public Health for the prevention of “Rheumatic Fever”.  One favorite memory was her involvement with the community yearly phone marathon as a benefit fund raiser for the “Wyoming Easter Seal Society”.  She and Ginger Biggerstaff danced the “Charleston” and raised a considerable amount toward the “Easter Seal’s” yearly goal.  She was also a founding member of the “Beta Sigma Phi Sorority” founded soon after the end of WWII.  She was a lifelong member of the First Baptist Church where she taught Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and sang alto in the church choir.  She later grew in her relationship with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ by attending the “Church’s Alive” Bible Studies.  She was a great supporter of the Campbell County athletic teams and she and other mothers transported their children to these events sometimes two and three hours in travel.  She was awarded a “50” year pin as a member of the PEO sisterhood in June of 2016 in Jackson, Wyoming.  Her greatest joys were the 68 years that she shared with Jack, their travels and their visits with the grandchildren and great grandchildren.  The rich legacy of encouragement and love that she passed to them will always be cherished.  She is survived by her daughter, Judy (Scott) Tenney of Sheridan, grandchildren, Hannah (Derek) Hall of Sheridan, Patrick (Sarah) Tenney of Jackson, Leah (Miles) Fortner, of Gillette, Matthew (Akiko) Nisselius of Tokyo, Japan, Nathan Nisselius of Gillette, and Michael Nisselius of Gillette, Clinton Ellison of Dallas, Tx., Curtis Ellison of Sioux Falls, SD, and James Beck of Gillette. Great Grandchildren include Noah and Mia Nisselius of Tokyo, Japan.  She was preceded in death by her parents, her son, James “Jim” Nisselius, and her brother, Eugene Rutherford of Kansas City, Mo.  The family would like to thank Dr. McMahill, Dr. Mead, Dr. Jordan, Dr. Bouzis, the staff on Birch Boulevard at “The Legacy”, the Hospice nurses, and her special caregivers, Debbie Welch, Cheryl Glatt, Julia Welch, and Jennifer Pitter for their compassionate and loving care.  Memorials may be made to “The Legacy Living and Rehabilitation Center” or “Hospice” of Campbell County Health Foundation in care of Gillette Memorial Chapel, 210 W. 5th Street, Gillette, Wyoming 82716 or condolences via the internet at www.gillettememorialchapel.com.