John (JC) Christensen

We are sorry to announce that John Christensen, better known to many of you as JC, passed away Tuesday evening, April 9th. We have been overwhelmed and blessed by the outpouring of love for John.

John has been such an important part of multiple communities and many, many peoples lives here in the Rogue Valley and beyond. The words we have heard in the past couple days to describe him have been kind, fair, caring, generous, fun, big heart, mentor, best friend, and by more than one person... a legend.

You may have known JC through his commitment and excellence within the softball community as umpire and friend, or as a music lover or colleague during his time in security for the Britt Festival. For many of you, you worked with him for years at Harry & David. For the rest of us, we knew him as brother, father, uncle, cousin or friend. For all of us, we knew him as an amazing human being who had a huge impact on our lives. He will be missed more than words can say.

We know that many of you were shocked by the news of his passing, and are wanting to know what happened. John struggled with inner demons for many years that most people in his life were unaware of. In the end, it became too overwhelming for him and he took his life in an effort to end the pain he had experienced for so long. It is heartbreaking to all of us to know that he struggled so much, and we hope now that he is able to rest and be with his family and friends who have welcomed him home.

John had stepped into the role of head of the family for many years. He took care of his two remaining siblings, and after one of his sisters lost her home in the Almeda fires, he welcomed her into his own home, where they have lived together for the past 2 1/2 years.

The reason we have started this Gofundme is that with his passing, there is a huge hole not only in our hearts, but in the financial means to make sure that his elderly sisters are continued to be cared for. His death of course was incredibly unexpected for all of us, and we are working on coming up with the funds to cover his final expenses, as well as funds to find housing and continued support for his sister.

We would like to request that in lieu of flowers, those who are able to can donate here to this fund in order to help the family continue in providing the support that his sisters need.

We would like to invite everyone to come celebrate his life with us on Sunday April 14th at 11:30am. We will be holding his celebration of life at the Jackson County Expo Center fairgrounds. It will held in the Mace building to the right of the Expo Center. This will be a celebration for friends and family to gather in fellowship to share food and stories. We will provide beverages and ask that those who can, bring a potluck dish to share with everyone. There will be tables and chairs for folks to sit and visit, and we would love for friends and family to bring pictures and memories of John to share.

Thank you all for your support and we send love back out to all of you who are also hurting at the loss of an incredible man and human being who we all loved so much.