Russell B. Christensen

Bangor - Russell (Rusty) B. Christensen died January 26, 2026, at the Maine Veteran's Home in Bangor.  He was born on June 26, 1931, in Mt. Vernon, NY, the son of Henry Johnson and Avis Bartlett Johnson. His mother Avis divorced and remarried Arthur Christensen, and he and his 6 siblings all bore the Christensen family name. He was 94 when he died.

Rusty graduated from Gardiner High School, Class of 1950. Following graduation, he served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper in Korea. After the war, he attended Middlebury College in Vermont, graduating in 1958 and later obtained his law degree from NYU in 1965.

Rusty married Cristina Fournier and had four children: Thor, Lars, Freya and Tania. He is survived by his sister, Mabel (Mickey) Ames, his children and 6 grandchildren.

Rusty served as a teacher, a Director for CARE, Inc. in Chile and Honduras, and had an extensive legal career with Pine Tree Legal Services, as a Director of the Student Legal Services at the University of Maine, Orono, the Executive Director of Maine Common Cause, and later as an asylum officer for the Immigration Service adjudicating refugee claims.

Rusty was instrumental in the creation of the Maine Woodsmen Association, assisted veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange, active in the Democratic Socialists of America. Rusty had a strong commitment to justice and servicing his community.

Although he lived in many places in Maine, upon retirement Rusty moved to the Farmington area and settled there.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday June 26, 2026, from 1-3 p.m. at Brookings-Smith, 133 Center St., Bangor. Condolences to the family may be expressed at BrookingsSmith.com.