David A. Christiansen, Ph.D

David A. Christiansen, Ph.D., died September 10, 2025 at the age of 85. He was an only child who grew up in the very small community of Palisade, Minnesota. His father was a carpenter and self-taught engineer who rose to supervise interstate bridge building; his spunky mother owned her own car, bought a farm for her parents, and worked at a department store in Minneapolis when they lived in that area. David had an early interest in music, and he began playing the piano about the age of nine. He played the organ in the Lutheran church in town as a teenager. He went to a Lutheran college, Gustavus Adolphus in St. Peter, Minnesota, because that's where people in his family went to college. He was very close to his paternal grandparents, especially his grandmother.

David completed a master's degree in music at a school in Chicago and was hired from there to teach piano at the Mehus Conservatory in Bismarck, North Dakota. He taught piano to the younger sister and brother of his future wife, Eva, and was very well liked by her siblings and by their parents. He and his wife-to-be met at a dinner party in her parents’ home after she graduated from college. It was not love at first sight, and she left to spend a year in Colorado earning an undergraduate minor in psychology. Both of her parents were psychologists, and her dad, impressed by David’s potential, hired him as a psych tech. David also had a special friend in Bismarck, Hilda Mehus, the sister of the woman who ran the conservatory he worked at, a retired psychologist who was influential in his decision to change fields.

David and Eva married in 1968 and went to graduate school in clinical psychology together at the University of South Dakota. Their first child, a daughter Johanna, was born during graduate school years. After an internship at the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut, David got a job offer at Sioux City Mental Health Center, where he had had a part-time job as a grad student. Their second child, a son Benjamin, was born in Sioux City, where they lived for 10 years. They both got jobs at the mental health center in Newton, David as chief psychologist.

After four years, he was hired as a staff psychologist at Lutheran Hospital in Des Moines, and within a year had become the Director of Patient and Family Services there. It was his favorite job and he was a good administrator and a good psychologist, leading to very loyal relationships with support and professional staff. He served as president of the Iowa Psychological Association twice. He went to work for Social Security Disability following his years at Lutheran and continued working until he was 75.

An important part of his heritage has been his northern European roots. David's father's family emigrated from Denmark; his mother's family was Swiss. His wife’s parents, she and her younger sister emigrated from Sweden. David and Eva’s children were 16 and 12 when the family first traveled to Europe together, and they had many good travels to Europe for a number of years.
David always enjoyed reading, and he essentially got the liberal education he would have liked to get while in college through his reading. He collected books, CDs, oriental rugs, and Inuit soapstone sculptures, among other things. He enjoyed music, hymns from his early interest in the church, classical music from his piano training, and the Beatles because that was the 60s. He enjoyed entertaining friends, especially dinner parties, as a favorite way of socializing.

David had long, loyal friendships, one with Cliff Brown that lasted longer than his marriage; they knew each other in college. He was also very close to Tom Gasque, who was an English professor at the University of South Dakota when David was a graduate student. For many years the Gasques were as close as family. Eric Eliason was another professor and administrator whose relationship began when David wrote a letter praising a comment Eric wrote in the Gustavus magazine. He traveled with David and Eva, including to Istanbul.

David was very close to his children, Johanna and Ben. David felt especially close to grandson, Arthur, now a sophomore at Grinnell, where David taught for five years as an adjunct psychology professor. David also loved the cat, Snickers, a very talkative Seal point Siamese who thrived when rehomed in their quieter environment.

At the time of his death, David had three grandchildren, Ben’s sons, Arthur and Henry, and Johanna’s daughter Amelia. David was very pleased that Ben was getting married to Sabina Magyar and also pleased thereby to add another granddaughter, Anais.
David’s family wishes to give thanks to the staff of Deerfield’s Health Center, who helped care for him, and to St. Croix Hospice, who kept his final days comfortable.

In lieu of flowers, if you wish to honor David’s memory, please make a contribution in his name to a charity of your choice.

A memorial service will be planned in the spring of 2026 and condolences may be expressed at HamiltonsFuneralHome.com.

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