Frances Chris Switzer

Frances Chris Vivian Switzer, 94, of Fort Collins and Lake Metigoshe, died Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2006. Frances V. Christianson was born July 11, 1912, in Minot, N.D., to Ellen Marie and Christian Marion Christianson. She was raised on a farm her parents homesteaded south of Minot, and later moved to Minot, where she would graduate from Minot High School and Minot State College. Chris worked as a medical technician before starting her family. Chris was united in holy marriage to Erwin Donald Don Switzer on March 25, 1941, in Minot where they raised their two sons and made their home throughout their 52-year marriage. A beloved second family home was the cabin they built on Lake Metigoshe where they enjoyed almost every summer weekend. After Don's retirement, in the mid-1970s, they spent part of their winters in Florida and Arizona, and summers at their cabin home at Lake Metigoshe. Don died on Nov. 10, 1993. Chris moved to Fort Collins in 1995 to be near her son William Bill and grandchildren and later her great-grandchildren who fondly called her "big grandma." She continued to spend summers at her Lake Metigoshe cabin after moving to Fort Collins. In Minot, Chris was an active member of P.E.O. and a member of the First Presbyterian Church. She did volunteer work at the V.A. hospital and Red Cross. Because she loved people and lively conversation, she made new friends easily and remained socially active in Fort Collins. Chris also loved North Dakota, bridge, photography, spending time at the lake where she was an avid and successful fisherwoman, and visiting with friends and family. She will be dearly missed by those who shared in her life. She is survived by: sons, Richard D. Switzer, St. Cloud, Minn., and William E. wife Ellen Switzer, Fort Collins; grandchildren, Kee Switzer and Kyle Switzer, Fort Collins, Melody husband David Foltz and great-grandchildren Kayla and Daniel Foltz, all of Windsor. A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Bohlender Funeral Chapel. Interment will be held at Rosehill Memorial Park, Minot, ND. Contributions may be made to the charity of your choice, in care of Bohlender Funeral Chapel.